Mask and usage method therefor, and mask assembly

Abstract

A mask and a usage method therefor, and a mask assembly. The mask comprises a body portion (11), wherein a plurality of preset areas (111) arranged at intervals are formed in the body portion (11), and an evaporation opening (112) is provided in each preset area; and the mask further comprises a first weight-reducing portion (12), a first supporting portion (13) and a second weight-reducing portion (14), which are located in each preset area, wherein the first weight-reducing portion (12) is arranged around at least part of an edge of each evaporation opening (112), and the first weight-reducing portion (12) is in contact with an edge of each portion opening (112); the first supporting portion (13) is arranged surrounding each evaporation opening (112), and is located on the side of the first weight-reducing portion that is away from the evaporation opening (112), and the second weight-reducing portion (14) is located on the side of the first supporting portion that is away from each evaporation opening (112) and is provided in a manner of surrounding the first supporting portion (13) in a ring; and the thickness of the first weight-reducing portion (12), and the thickness of the second weight-reducing portion (14) are less than the thickness of the first supporting portion (13). The mask can reduce a gap between a mask and a precision mask, and can improve wrinkles between the mask and the precision mask, so as to facilitate an improvement in evaporation quality.

Description

Mask plate and method of using same, and mask plate assembly

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese patent application No. 202310778150.4, filed on June 28, 2023, entitled “Mask plate, method of use thereof, and mask plate assembly”, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present application belongs to the field of display technology, and in particular relates to a mask plate, a method for using the mask plate, and a mask plate assembly. Background Art

[0004] OLED display technology is currently widely used in the display industry. While OLED display production relies on vapor deposition, inkjet printing, and spin coating, among other technologies, vapor deposition is currently the most mature. This technology uses a precision mask (FMM) to deposit organic light-emitting materials onto a substrate at designated locations.

[0005] In the industry, traditional strip masks are used to support precision masks. Strip masks extending in rows or columns can be cross-arranged to form a rectangular vapor deposition area. However, for OLED screens with irregular shapes, traditional strip masks have poor blocking accuracy and support, making them inadequate for use. Therefore, planar masks (similar to traditional strip masks extending in rows or columns combined to form a single mesh) are required to support the precision mask (FMM). However, planar masks are prone to defects during the stretching process, affecting the vapor deposition yield.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] The embodiments of the present application provide a mask plate, a method for using the same, and a mask plate assembly, which can reduce the gap between the mask plate and the precision mask plate, and at the same time improve the wrinkles between the mask plate and the precision mask plate, thereby helping to improve the quality of evaporation.

[0008] An embodiment of the first aspect of the present application provides a mask plate, including:

[0009] A main body portion, wherein a plurality of preset areas arranged at intervals are formed in the main body portion, and a vapor deposition opening is provided in the preset areas;

[0010] a first weight-reducing portion, located in the preset area and disposed around at least a portion of an edge of the evaporation opening, wherein the first weight-reducing portion contacts the edge of the evaporation opening;

[0011] a first supporting portion, located in the preset area and arranged around the evaporation opening, wherein the first supporting portion is located on a side of the first weight-reducing portion away from the evaporation opening;

[0012] a second weight-reducing portion, located in the preset area, the second weight-reducing portion being located on a side of the first supporting portion away from the evaporation opening and being annularly arranged around the first supporting portion;

[0013] Wherein, the thickness of the first weight-reducing portion and the second weight-reducing portion is smaller than the thickness of the first supporting portion.

[0014] According to an embodiment of the first aspect of the present application, the first weight-reducing portion is in a ring shape surrounding the edge of the evaporation opening; or,

[0015] There are multiple first weight-reducing portions, which are evenly distributed along the edge of the evaporation opening, and a portion of the first supporting portion extends between adjacent first weight-reducing portions;

[0016] Preferably, the edge of the evaporation opening includes a corner area, and the first weight-reducing portion is provided at an edge position on one side of the corner area away from the evaporation opening.

[0017] According to any of the aforementioned embodiments of the first aspect of the present application, the thicknesses of the first weight-reducing portion and the second weight-reducing portion are equal, or the thickness of the first weight-reducing portion is greater than the thickness of the second weight-reducing portion;

[0018] The thickness of the first supporting portion is equal to the thickness of the main body portion.

[0019] According to any of the aforementioned embodiments of the first aspect of the present application, the preset areas are arranged in rows and columns, and a third weight-reducing portion and / or a fourth weight-reducing portion are further formed in the main body, the third weight-reducing portion is arranged between the preset areas adjacent to each other in the row direction, and the fourth weight-reducing portion is arranged between the preset areas adjacent to each other in the column direction;

[0020] Preferably, the entire surface of the main body is continuously arranged.

[0021] According to any of the aforementioned embodiments of the first aspect of the present application, a third weight-reducing portion is formed between any two adjacent preset areas along the row direction, and a fourth weight-reducing portion is formed between any two adjacent preset areas along the column direction; or;

[0022] A plurality of the third weight-reducing portions are formed between any two of the preset areas adjacent in the row direction, and the plurality of the third weight-reducing portions are arranged in the column direction or the row direction; a plurality of the fourth weight-reducing portions are formed between any two of the preset areas adjacent in the column direction, and the plurality of the fourth weight-reducing portions are arranged in the row direction or the column direction;

[0023] Preferably, a fifth weight-reducing portion is further included, and the fifth weight-reducing portion is arranged between adjacent third weight-reducing portions and / or adjacent fourth weight-reducing portions.

[0024] According to any of the aforementioned embodiments of the first aspect of the present application, the minimum distance between the first preset area and the second preset area adjacent to each other along the row direction or the column direction is a preset value, wherein the first preset area is any one of the preset area, the third weight reduction part, the fourth weight reduction part, and the fifth weight reduction part, and the second preset area is any one of the preset area, the third weight reduction part, the fourth weight reduction part, and the fifth weight reduction part.

[0025] According to any of the aforementioned embodiments of the first aspect of the present application, the mask plate includes a first surface and a second surface, and the first weight-reducing portion and / or the second weight-reducing portion are formed after etching the first surface and / or the second surface;

[0026] Preferably, the first weight-reducing portion formed after etching the first surface and the first weight-reducing portion formed after etching the second surface have the same size along the thickness direction of the mask plate; the second weight-reducing portion formed after etching the first surface and the second weight-reducing portion formed after etching the second surface have the same size along the thickness direction of the mask plate.

[0027] According to any of the aforementioned embodiments of the first aspect of the present application, the edge of the evaporation opening includes a straight area and a corner area, the first weight reduction portion includes a first arc angle area arranged opposite to the corner area, and the second weight reduction portion includes a second arc angle area arranged opposite to the first arc angle area on the side facing the evaporation opening.

[0028] An embodiment of the second aspect of the present application further provides a mask plate assembly, comprising any mask plate provided in the first aspect of the present application; and further comprising a precision mask plate, wherein the precision mask plate is stacked on a side surface of the mask plate where the first weight reduction portion is provided.

[0029] The embodiment of the third aspect of the present application further provides a method for using a mask plate, including:

[0030] Providing a substrate to be evaporated, wherein the substrate to be evaporated includes a display area;

[0031] Provide any one of the mask plates provided in the first aspect of the present application, the mask plate comprising an evaporation opening, wherein when the evaporation opening coincides with the center of the display area, the minimum spacing between the straight area of ​​the edge of the evaporation opening and the edge of the display area is a, and the minimum spacing between the corner area of ​​the edge of the evaporation opening and the edge of the display area is A, a <A;

[0032] Laying the deposition side of the substrate to be evaporated on the mask plate so that the display area is aligned with the deposition opening, and spraying the evaporation material toward the substrate to be evaporated from the mask plate facing away from the substrate to be evaporated;

[0033] Preferably, 0.12mm≤a<0.2mm, 0.12mm <A≤0.2mm。

[0034] The mask plate provided in this application is used to support a precision mask plate. The mask plate includes a main body, a first weight-reducing portion, a first support portion, and a second weight-reducing portion. A plurality of preset areas arranged at intervals are formed within the main body, each of which is provided with an evaporation opening. Each evaporation opening can be used to correspond to a display area of ​​a display panel. The shape of the evaporation opening matches the shape of the display area. Multiple identical preset areas are spaced apart within the main body to achieve uniform stress distribution. The preset areas can be regular areas. When the evaporation openings are irregularly shaped, the areas surrounding each irregularly shaped evaporation opening can be regularized, which helps to improve the uniformity of stress distribution in each area of ​​the main body. Each preset area includes a first weight-reducing portion, a first supporting portion, and a second weight-reducing portion, wherein the first weight-reducing portion is arranged around at least a portion of the edge of the evaporation opening, and the first weight-reducing portion is in contact with the edge of the evaporation opening, that is, the first weight-reducing portion is arranged adjacent to the evaporation opening, and the thickness of the first weight-reducing portion is less than the thickness of the first supporting portion. On the one hand, it can reduce the weight of the mask plate, improve its sinking phenomenon, and reduce the probability of wrinkles when the net is stretched; on the other hand, it can improve the problem of the mask plate and the precision mask plate fitting too tightly, thereby helping the mask plate to stretch and improve wrinkles. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments of the present application.

[0036] FIG1 is a schematic structural diagram of a mask provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0037] FIG2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line PP′ in FIG1 ;

[0038] FIG3 is a schematic structural diagram of another mask provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0039] FIG4 is a schematic structural diagram of another mask plate provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0040] FIG5 is another cross-sectional view taken along line PP' in FIG1;

[0041] FIG6 is a schematic structural diagram of another mask plate provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0042] FIG7 is a schematic structural diagram of another mask plate provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0043] FIG8 is a schematic structural diagram of another mask plate provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0044] FIG9 is a schematic structural diagram of another mask plate provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] FIG10 is a schematic structural diagram of another mask provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] FIG11 is a schematic structural diagram of another mask provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] FIG12 is another cross-sectional view taken along line PP' in FIG1;

[0048] FIG13 is a schematic structural diagram of another mask provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] FIG14 is a schematic structural diagram of a mask assembly provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] FIG15 is a reference diagram of a mask assembly in use according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] FIG16 is a schematic diagram of the alignment of a mask plate assembly in use provided by an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0052] The features and exemplary embodiments of various aspects of the present application will be described in detail below. In the detailed description below, many specific details are proposed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the present application. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present application can be implemented without the need for some of these specific details. The following description of the embodiments is merely intended to provide a better understanding of the present application by illustrating the examples of the present application.

[0053] In this document, relational terms such as first and second are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or device comprising a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or elements inherent to such process, method, article, or device. In the absence of further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising..." does not exclude the presence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or device comprising the element.

[0054] The inventors have found that planar masks are prone to defects during the stretching process, which affects the evaporation yield rate. The reasons are: the planar mask has a large area, and due to its own weight, the middle of the solid area is prone to sinking, which is prone to wrinkles during the stretching process, or the gap between the middle of the planar mask and the substrate is larger than the gap between the edge of the planar mask and the substrate. As a result, when the organic light-emitting material is evaporated to the designated position on the substrate, the organic light-emitting material is easily evaporated to the substrate through the gap between the middle of the planar mask and the substrate or the wrinkled position, resulting in a portion of organic light-emitting material being added around the designated position, resulting in evaporation defects. Moreover, this portion of newly added organic light-emitting material is located between adjacent designated positions, which makes it easy for the organic light-emitting materials at adjacent designated positions to mix colors, resulting in poor display and affecting the display yield. Based on the research on the above problems, the inventors provide a mask plate, a method for using it, and a mask plate assembly to improve the evaporation yield rate.

[0055] In order to better understand the present application, the mask plate and its use method, and the mask plate assembly according to the embodiments of the present application are described in detail below with reference to Figures 1 to 16.

[0056] Referring to Figures 1 and 2, an embodiment of the present application provides a mask plate 1, comprising a main body 11, a first weight-reducing portion 12, a first support portion 13, and a second weight-reducing portion 14. The main body 11 is formed with a plurality of spaced-apart predetermined areas 111, each of which includes a vapor deposition opening 112. The first weight-reducing portion 12 is located within the predetermined area 111 and surrounds at least a portion of the edge of the vapor deposition opening 112, contacting the edge of the vapor deposition opening 112. The first support portion 13 is located within the predetermined area 111 and surrounds the vapor deposition opening 112, with the first support portion 13 being located on the side of the first weight-reducing portion 12 away from the vapor deposition opening 112. The second weight-reducing portion 14 is located within the predetermined area 111 and is located on the side of the first support portion 13 away from the vapor deposition opening 112, forming an annular shape surrounding the first support portion 13. The thickness of the first and second weight-reducing portions 12, 14 is less than that of the first support portion 13.

[0057] The mask plate 1 provided in the present application is used to support a precision mask plate 21. The mask plate 1 includes a main body 11, a first weight-reducing portion 12, a first support portion 13, and a second weight-reducing portion 14. A plurality of preset areas 111 arranged at intervals are formed in the main body 11. Each preset area 111 is provided with an evaporation opening 112. Each evaporation opening 112 can be used to correspond to a display area of ​​a display panel. The shape of the evaporation opening 112 matches the shape of the display area. Multiple identical preset areas 111 are arranged at intervals in the main body 11, so that the stress distribution can be uniform. The preset area 111 can be a regular area. When the evaporation opening 112 is irregular in shape, the surrounding area of ​​each irregular-shaped evaporation opening 112 can be regularized, which helps to improve the uniformity of stress distribution in each area of ​​the main body 11. Each preset area 111 includes a first weight-reducing portion 12, a first support portion 13 and a second weight-reducing portion 14, wherein the first weight-reducing portion 12 is arranged around at least a portion of the edge of the evaporation opening 112, and the first weight-reducing portion 12 is in contact with the edge of the evaporation opening 112, that is, the first weight-reducing portion 12 is arranged adjacent to the evaporation opening 112, and the thickness of the first weight-reducing portion 12 is less than the thickness of the first support portion 13. On the one hand, it can reduce the weight of the mask plate 1, improve its sinking phenomenon, and reduce the probability of wrinkles when the net is stretched; on the other hand, it can improve the problem of the mask plate 1 and the precision mask plate 21 fitting too tightly, thereby helping the mask plate 1 to stretch and improve wrinkles; at the same time, the thickness of the first weight-reducing portion 12 is less than the thickness of the first support portion 13, thereby forming a accommodating space, which can be used to accommodate foreign matter, improve the scratch phenomenon of the mask plate 1 and the precision mask plate 21 caused by foreign matter being located between the mask plate 1 and the precision mask plate 21, thereby helping to protect the precision mask plate 21 and the mask plate 1. The first support portion 13 is located on the side of the first weight-reducing portion 12 away from the evaporation opening 112, and the first support portion 13 is arranged around the evaporation opening 112. The first support portion 13 can provide good support for the precision mask plate 21 in the circumferential direction of the evaporation opening 112, and at the same time help to increase the fitting pressure between the mask plate 1 and the precision mask plate 21, thereby ensuring the fitting tightness between the two, thereby reducing the probability of gaps or wrinkles between the mask plate 1 and the precision mask plate 21 due to the sinking of the mask plate 1. The second weight-reducing portion 14 is located on the side of the first support portion 13 away from the evaporation opening 112. The second weight-reducing portion 14 is arranged in a ring shape around the first support portion 13, that is, the second weight-reducing portion 14 surrounds the first weight-reducing portion 13 from the edge of the side of the first weight-reducing portion 13 away from the evaporation opening, and forms a ring structure around the first weight-reducing portion 14 and the evaporation opening, thereby achieving uniform weight reduction in the direction around the evaporation opening 112, reducing the weight of the mask plate 1, improving the phenomenon of the mask plate 1 sinking, and reducing the probability of wrinkles when the net is stretched. That is, the mask plate 1 provided in the present application can reduce the gap between the mask plate 1 and the precision mask plate 21, and at the same time improve the wrinkles between the mask plate 1 and the precision mask plate 21, which helps to improve the evaporation quality and improve the display yield.

[0058] In a feasible embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1 , the first weight-reducing portion 12 is in a ring shape surrounding the edge of the evaporation opening 112 .

[0059] In the above embodiment, the first support portion 12 is designed to be ring-shaped around the edge of the evaporation opening 112, so as to provide a uniform weight reduction effect in the edge direction of the evaporation opening 112, which helps to extend the mask plate 1 along the circumference of the evaporation opening 112, thereby reducing the probability of wrinkles on the precision mask plate 21, and avoiding the mask plate 1 being difficult to extend due to the mask plate 1 being too tightly fitted to the precision mask plate, thereby fixing the wrinkles under the close fitting action, thereby affecting the net stretching effect.

[0060] In another feasible embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3 , there are multiple first weight-reducing portions 12 , which are evenly distributed along the edge of the evaporation opening 112 , and part of the first support portion 13 extends between adjacent first weight-reducing portions 12 .

[0061] In the above embodiment, the number of first weight-reducing portions 12 is multiple and evenly distributed along the edge of the evaporation opening 112. Part of the first support portion 13 extends between adjacent first weight-reducing portions 12, so that the first support portion 13 provides relatively uniform support for the precision mask plate 21 in the circumferential direction of the evaporation opening 112, preventing tilting, helping to improve alignment accuracy, and thus improving the evaporation effect. At the same time, the number of first weight-reducing portions 12 is multiple and evenly distributed along the edge of the evaporation opening 112, thereby improving the ductility of the mask plate 1 near the evaporation opening 112 and making the extended position more uniform, thereby reducing the probability of wrinkles.

[0062] In the above embodiment, the edge of the evaporation opening 112 includes a corner area 1122, which is more prone to wrinkles. The first weight-reducing portion 12 is arranged at the edge of the corner area 1122 away from the evaporation opening 112, which can further reduce the probability of wrinkles in the corner area 1122.

[0063] In the above embodiment, the first weight reduction portion 12 may be partially located in the corner area, partially located in the straight area 1121, or may be located entirely in the straight area 1121. This application does not make any special restrictions, and only requires that the first weight reduction portion 12 be evenly distributed along the edge of the evaporation opening 112.

[0064] In another feasible embodiment, as shown in Figure 4, the number of the first weight reduction portion 12 is multiple, and the corner area 1122 corresponding to the evaporation opening 112 is set. The corner area 1122 is more likely to produce wrinkles during the net stretching process than the straight area 1121. The first weight reduction portion 12 is set corresponding to the corner area 1122, which can reduce the fit tightness between the corner area 1122 and the precision mask plate 21, thereby improving the ductility of the mask plate 1 in the corner area 1122 to reduce wrinkles during the net stretching process.

[0065] In a feasible embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2 , the thicknesses of the first weight-reducing portion 12 and the second weight-reducing portion 14 are equal, or, as shown in FIG. 5 , the thickness of the first weight-reducing portion 12 is greater than the thickness of the second weight-reducing portion 14 .

[0066] In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2 , the first weight-reducing portion 12 and the second weight-reducing portion 14 have the same thickness, so they can be manufactured using the same process and in the same step, thus saving manufacturing costs.

[0067] Alternatively, as shown in Figure 5, the thickness of the first weight-reducing portion 12 is greater than that of the second weight-reducing portion 14, that is, the first weight-reducing portion 12 is thicker, while the second weight-reducing portion 14 is thinner. The thicker first weight-reducing portion 12 provides stronger support around the evaporation opening 112, improving the net tensioning effect. The thinner second weight-reducing portion 14 further reduces the weight of the mask plate 1, further reducing the sinking phenomenon caused by the weight of the mask plate 1, and thus helping to improve the net tensioning effect.

[0068] In the above embodiment, the thickness of the first weight-reducing portion 12 and the second weight-reducing portion 14 may be 50%-85% of the thickness of the main body 11 , which is not particularly limited in this application.

[0069] In the above embodiment, the width of the first weight-reducing portion 12 can be 0.5 mm to 4 mm; the width of the first support portion 13 can be 1 mm to 4 mm; and the width of the second weight-reducing portion 14 can be 1 mm to 8 mm. The above width is the distance between the edge of each portion facing the evaporation opening 112 and the edge of each portion facing away from the evaporation opening 112.

[0070] In a feasible embodiment, as shown in FIG2 and FIG5 , the dimension of the first support portion 13 along the thickness direction of the mask plate is equal to the dimension of the main body portion 11 along the thickness direction of the mask plate, thereby improving the support effect of the mask plate 1 .

[0071] In a feasible embodiment, the preset areas 111 are arranged in rows and columns, and a third weight-reducing portion 15 and / or a fourth weight-reducing portion 16 are also formed in the main body 11. The third weight-reducing portion 15 is arranged between the preset areas 111 adjacent along the row direction x, and the fourth weight-reducing portion 16 is arranged between the preset areas 111 adjacent along the column direction y.

[0072] In the above embodiment, the preset areas 111 are arranged in rows and columns, thereby improving the uniformity of stress distribution in the mask plate 1 and improving the flatness of the stretched network.

[0073] In the above embodiment, as shown in Figure 6, a third weight-reducing portion 15 may also be formed in the main body 11. The third weight-reducing portion 15 is arranged between adjacent preset areas 111 along the row direction x, thereby further reducing the weight of the mask plate 1. At the same time, the uniformity of the stress distribution in the mask plate 1 can be further improved, that is, the size difference of the volume per unit area in the mask plate 1 is reduced, thereby improving the phenomenon of wrinkles occurring during the net stretching process.

[0074] In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG7 , a fourth weight-reducing portion 16 may also be formed within the main body 11. The fourth weight-reducing portion 16 is disposed between adjacent predetermined regions 111 along the column direction y. This further reduces the weight of the mask plate 1 and improves the uniformity of stress distribution within the mask plate 1. Specifically, the volume per unit area of ​​the mask plate 1 is reduced, thereby reducing wrinkles during the stretching process.

[0075] In the above embodiment, the main body 11 is continuously arranged on the entire surface, the third weight reduction portion 15 and the fourth weight reduction portion 16 are located inside the main body 11, the main body 11 is retained between the third weight reduction portion 15 and the adjacent preset area 111, and the main body 11 is retained between the fourth weight reduction portion 16 and the adjacent preset area 111, that is, the main body 11 between the rows and columns of the adjacent preset areas 111 is retained, and the main body 11 in the mask plate 1 plays an important supporting role, so that the main body 11 is continuously arranged on the entire surface, thereby on the one hand, improving the support effect of the mask plate 1 on the precision mask plate 21, and on the other hand, during the process of stretching the net, the mask plate 1 stretches the positions between the rows and columns of the preset areas 111 and fixes them to the support frame, and retains the main body 11 located between the rows and columns of the adjacent preset areas 111, which can be beneficial to the transmission of the tension of the net during the stretching process.

[0076] In a feasible embodiment, as shown in FIG8 , a third weight-reducing portion 15 is formed between any two adjacent preset areas 111 along the row direction x, and a fourth weight-reducing portion 16 is formed between any two adjacent preset areas 111 along the column direction y.

[0077] In the above embodiment, the third weight-reducing portion 15 and the fourth weight-reducing portion 16 are evenly distributed in the mask plate 1 , thereby helping to improve the uniformity of stress distribution of the mask plate 1 and improve its flatness after stretching.

[0078] In the above embodiment, the spacing between the third weight-reducing portion 15 and the predetermined region 111 may be greater than or equal to 2 mm, and the width of the third weight-reducing portion 15 along the direction between adjacent predetermined regions 111 may be less than or equal to the spacing between adjacent predetermined regions 111 minus 4 mm. The spacing between the fourth weight-reducing portion 16 and the predetermined region 111 may be greater than or equal to 2 mm, and the width of the fourth weight-reducing portion 16 along the direction between adjacent predetermined regions 111 may be less than or equal to the spacing between adjacent predetermined regions 111 minus 4 mm. This ensures both manufacturing yield and the support effect of the main body 11.

[0079] In one feasible embodiment, as shown in FIG9 , a plurality of third weight-reducing portions 15 are formed between any two adjacent predetermined regions 111 along the row direction x, and the plurality of third weight-reducing portions 15 are arranged along the column direction y or the row direction x. As shown in FIG10 and FIG11 , a plurality of fourth weight-reducing portions 16 are formed between any two adjacent predetermined regions 111 along the column direction y, and the plurality of fourth weight-reducing portions 16 are arranged along the row direction x or the column direction y.

[0080] In the above embodiment, the shapes of the third weight-reducing portion 15 and the fourth weight-reducing portion 16 can be rectangular, circular, elliptical, etc., which are not particularly limited in this application.

[0081] In the above embodiment, when multiple third weight-reducing portions 15 are formed between any two adjacent predetermined regions 111 along the row direction x, and the multiple third weight-reducing portions 15 are arranged along the column direction y or the row direction x, that is, the multiple third weight-reducing portions 15 between any two adjacent predetermined regions 111 along the row direction x are arranged in a regular pattern, this helps to improve the uniformity of stress distribution on the mask plate 1 and enhance its flatness after stretching. Furthermore, the main body 11 is retained between adjacent third weight-reducing portions 15, thereby enhancing the support provided by the mask plate 1 to the precision mask plate 21 and facilitating the transmission of the stretching force along the column direction y.

[0082] In the above embodiment, when multiple fourth weight-reducing portions 16 are formed between any two adjacent predetermined regions 111 along the column direction y, and the multiple fourth weight-reducing portions 16 are arranged along the row direction x or the column direction y, that is, the multiple fourth weight-reducing portions 16 located between any two adjacent predetermined regions 111 along the row direction x are arranged in a regular pattern, this helps to improve the uniformity of stress distribution on the mask plate 1 and enhance its flatness after stretching. Furthermore, the main body 11 is retained between adjacent fourth weight-reducing portions 16, thereby enhancing the support provided by the mask plate 1 to the precision mask plate 21 and facilitating the transmission of the stretching force along the row direction x.

[0083] In one feasible embodiment, as shown in FIG8 , a fifth weight-reducing portion 17 is further included, and is disposed between adjacent third weight-reducing portions 15 and / or adjacent fourth weight-reducing portions 16. Specifically, the fifth weight-reducing portion 17 is disposed at the center of the four predetermined regions 111 arranged in a "T-shaped" pattern, thereby reducing weight at the aforementioned center location and further improving the uniformity of stress distribution on the mask plate 1.

[0084] In one feasible embodiment, as shown in Figures 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11, the minimum distance between adjacent first and second preset areas along the row or column direction is a preset value d. The first preset area is any one of the preset region 111, the third weight reduction portion 15, the fourth weight reduction portion 16, and the fifth weight reduction portion 17; the second preset area is any one of the preset region 111, the third weight reduction portion 15, the fourth weight reduction portion 16, and the fifth weight reduction portion 17. Within the same mask plate, the preset value d measured at different locations is the same. This helps improve the uniformity of stress distribution at all locations on the mask plate 1.

[0085] In a feasible embodiment, as shown in FIG2 and FIG12 , the mask plate 1 includes a first surface A1 and a second surface A2 , and a first lightening portion 12 and / or a second lightening portion 14 are formed after etching the first surface A1 and / or the second surface A2 .

[0086] In the above embodiment, the first weight-reducing portion 12 is formed on the mask plate after etching the first surface A1 and / or the second surface A2, and the second weight-reducing portion 14 is formed on the first surface A1 and / or the second surface A2. The first weight-reducing portion 12 and the second weight-reducing portion 14 can be formed by etching different surfaces of the mask plate, and this application does not make any special limitations.

[0087] The first lightening portion 12 reduces the tightness of the fit between the mask plate 1 and the precision mask plate 21 while also accommodating impurities. Therefore, the precision mask plate 21 contacts the surface of the mask plate 1 on which the first lightening portion 12 is provided. When both the first surface A1 and the second surface A2 are provided with the first lightening portion 12, errors can be prevented during the alignment and bonding of the precision mask plate 21 to the mask plate 1, providing a foolproof effect and saving assembly time.

[0088] When the first surface A1 is provided with the first weight-reducing portion 12 / the second weight-reducing portion 14 and the second surface A2 is provided with the first weight-reducing portion 12 / the second weight-reducing portion 14, the uniformity of both sides of the mask plate 1 can be improved, and the probability of the mask plate 1 curling to one side can be reduced, which helps to keep the mask plate 1 flat and improve the net stretching effect.

[0089] In one feasible embodiment, the first lightening portion 12 formed after etching the first surface A1 and the first lightening portion 12 formed after etching the second surface A2 have the same dimensions along the thickness direction of the mask plate; and the second lightening portion 14 formed after etching the first surface A1 and the second lightening portion 14 formed after etching the second surface A2 have the same dimensions along the thickness direction of the mask plate. This further improves the uniformity of both sides of the mask plate 1, reduces the probability of the mask plate 1 curling to one side, helps maintain the flatness of the mask plate 1, and improves the net stretching effect.

[0090] In a feasible embodiment, the shape of the evaporation opening 112 is a regular polygon or an irregular shape, wherein the irregular shape includes an irregular polygon or a special shape.

[0091] That is, the shape of the evaporation opening 112 can be irregular, so it can be used to prepare irregular display panels. For example, a display panel with a notch (the area for placing the front camera and sensor) or a display panel with an irregular shape (such as a wristband, VR and AR), which is not particularly limited in this application.

[0092] In a feasible embodiment, as shown in Figure 13, the edge of the evaporation opening 112 includes a straight area 1121 and a corner area 1122, the first weight reduction portion 12 includes a first arc angle area 121 arranged opposite to the corner area 1122, and the second weight reduction portion 14 includes a second arc angle area 141 arranged opposite to the first arc angle area 121 on the side facing the evaporation opening 112.

[0093] In the above embodiment, the area of ​​the first weight reduction portion 12 opposite to the corner area 1122 of the evaporation opening 112 is formed into the first arc angle area 121, and the side of the second weight reduction portion 14 facing the evaporation opening 112 is formed in the second arc angle area 141 opposite to the first arc angle area 121. On the one hand, the stress concentration problem can be reduced, and cracks can be avoided in the corner area 1122 of the mask plate 1 during the stretching process, thereby helping to improve the service life of the mask plate 1. On the other hand, after actual evaporation use, the mask plate 1 needs to be ultrasonically cleaned and air-dried. The area of ​​the first weight reduction portion 12 opposite to the corner area 1122 of the evaporation opening 112 is formed into the first arc angle area 121, and the side of the second weight reduction portion 14 facing the evaporation opening 112 is formed in the second arc angle area 141 opposite to the first arc angle area 121. The cleaning damage rate can be reduced, thereby helping to improve the service life of the mask plate 1 and reduce the replacement cost of the mask plate 1.

[0094] The radii of the first arc angle area 121 and the second arc angle area 141 may be selected to be greater than or equal to 0.25 mm, thereby ensuring the manufacturing yield and achieving a good smooth transition effect.

[0095] The present application provides a mask plate assembly 2. As shown in FIG. 14, it includes any one of the mask plates 1 provided in the above embodiments of the present application; it further includes a precision mask plate 21, and the precision mask plate 21 is stacked on one side surface of the mask plate 1 where the first weight reduction portion 12 is provided.

[0096] In the above embodiment, the mask plate assembly 2 includes a mask plate 1 and a precision mask plate 21. The precision mask plate 21 is disposed on one side surface layer of the mask plate 1 where the first weight reduction portion 12 is provided, which can improve the problem of too tight fitting between the mask plate 1 and the precision mask plate 21, thereby helping the mask plate 1 to extend and improve wrinkles; at the same time, the thickness of the first weight reduction portion 12 is less than the thickness of the first support portion 13, so as to form an accommodation space, which can be used to accommodate foreign objects and improve the scratching phenomenon of the two caused by foreign objects being located between the mask plate 1 and the precision mask plate 21, thereby helping to protect the precision mask plate 21 and the mask plate 1.

[0097] The present application also provides a method for using a mask plate 1. As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, it includes:

[0098] S100, providing a substrate 3 to be vapor-deposited, and the substrate 3 to be vapor-deposited includes a display area 31.

[0099] Among them, the substrate 3 to be vapor-deposited can be used to form a plurality of display panels, so it can include a plurality of display areas 31.

[0100] S200, providing any one of the mask plates 1 provided in the above embodiments of the present application. The mask plate 1 includes a vapor deposition opening 112. When the vapor deposition opening 112 coincides with the center of the display area 31, the minimum distance between the straight area 1121 at the edge of the vapor deposition opening 112 and the edge of the display area 31 is a, and the minimum distance between the corner area 1122 at the edge of the vapor deposition opening 112 and the edge of the display area 31 is A, a < A, and 0.12 mm ≤ a < 0.2 mm, 0.12 mm < A ≤ 0.2 mm.

[0101] Among them, the vapor deposition opening 112 is larger than the area of the display area 31, so as to ensure the yield of vapor deposition on the display area 31 and avoid the problem of poor vapor deposition caused by the vapor deposition opening 112 blocking the display area 31. At the same time, the vapor deposition opening 112 being larger than the area of the display area 31 can increase the error tolerance rate during the alignment of the two. And when the vapor deposition opening 112 coincides with the center of the display area 31, the minimum distance between the straight area 1121 at the edge of the vapor deposition opening 112 and the edge of the display area 31 is a, and the minimum distance between the corner area 1122 at the edge of the vapor deposition opening 112 and the edge of the display area 31 is A, a < A. Since the processing difficulty of the corner area 1122 is large, setting a to be less than A can reduce the adverse problems caused by processing errors.

[0102] Among them, 0.12 mm ≤ a < 0.2 mm, 0.12 mm < A ≤ 0.2 mm. Specifically, a can be 0.12 mm, 0.13 mm, 0.15 mm, 0.16 mm, 0.17 mm, 0.19 mm, etc., and this application does not make special limitations. a can be 0.13 mm, 0.14 mm, 0.15 mm, 0.16 mm, 0.17 mm, 0.19 mm, 0.20 mm, etc., and this application does not make special limitations. It only needs to ensure that a < A.

[0103] S300, the evaporation side of the substrate 3 to be evaporated is arranged in contact with the mask plate 1, so that the display area 31 is aligned with the evaporation opening 112, and the evaporation material is sprayed from the side of the mask plate 1 facing away from the substrate 3 to be evaporated onto the substrate 3 to be evaporated.

[0104] During the evaporation process, as shown in FIG. 15, the evaporation device includes a magnetic attraction part 41 and an evaporation source 42. During the evaporation process, the precision mask plate 21 is located between the mask plate 1 and the magnetic attraction part 41, and the substrate 3 to be evaporated is located between the magnetic attraction part 41 and the precision mask plate 21. The magnetic attraction part 41 is magnetically fixed to the mask plate 1, thereby clamping and fixing the substrate 3 to be evaporated and the precision mask plate 21. The evaporation source 42 is located on the side of the mask plate 1 away from the magnetic attraction part 41.

[0105] In the above embodiments of this application, the mask plate 1 has better mesh flatness, which can reduce the probability of wrinkles and reduce the gap between the mask plate 1 and the precision mask plate 21 caused by the self-weight of the mask plate 1, thereby improving the evaporation quality and reducing color mixing defects.

[0106] According to the embodiments of this application as described above, these embodiments do not describe all the details in detail, nor do they limit the invention to only the specific embodiments. Obviously, according to the above description, many modifications and changes can be made. This specification selects and specifically describes these embodiments in order to better explain the principle and practical application of this application, so that those skilled in the art can make good use of this application and its modifications based on this application. This application is only limited by the claims and their full scope and equivalents.

Claims

1. A mask plate, comprising: A main body portion, wherein a plurality of preset areas arranged at intervals are formed in the main body portion, and a vapor deposition opening is provided in the preset area; A first weight-reducing portion, located in the preset area and disposed around at least a portion of an edge of the evaporation opening, wherein the first weight-reducing portion is in contact with the edge of the evaporation opening; A first supporting portion, located in the preset area and arranged around the evaporation opening, wherein the first supporting portion is located on a side of the first weight-reducing portion away from the evaporation opening; A second weight-reducing portion, located in the preset area, the second weight-reducing portion is located on a side of the first supporting portion away from the evaporation opening and is in a ring shape arranged around the first supporting portion; Wherein, the thickness of the first weight-reducing portion and the second weight-reducing portion is smaller than the thickness of the first supporting portion.

2. The mask plate according to claim 1, wherein: The first weight-reducing portion is in a ring shape surrounding an edge of the evaporation opening.

3. The mask plate according to claim 1, wherein: There are a plurality of first weight-reducing portions, which are evenly distributed along the edge of the evaporation opening, and a portion of the first supporting portion extends between adjacent first weight-reducing portions.

4. The mask plate according to claim 3, wherein: The edge of the evaporation opening includes a corner area, the first weight reduction portion is arranged corresponding to the corner area of ​​the evaporation opening, and the first weight reduction portion is arranged at an edge position of one side of the corner area away from the evaporation opening.

5. The mask plate according to claim 3, wherein: The edge of the evaporation opening includes a straight area and the corner area, a portion of the first weight reduction portion is located in the corner area, and a portion of the first weight reduction portion is located in the straight area.

6. The mask plate according to claim 1, wherein: The thickness of the first weight-reducing portion is equal to that of the second weight-reducing portion, or the thickness of the first weight-reducing portion is greater than the thickness of the second weight-reducing portion; The thickness of the first supporting portion is equal to the thickness of the main body portion.

7. The mask plate according to claim 1, wherein: The preset areas are arranged in rows and columns, and a third weight-reducing portion and / or a fourth weight-reducing portion are also formed in the main body. The third weight-reducing portion is arranged between the preset areas adjacent to each other along the row direction, and the fourth weight-reducing portion is arranged between the preset areas adjacent to each other along the column direction.

8. The mask plate according to claim 1, wherein: The main body is continuously arranged over its entire surface.

9. The mask plate according to claim 7, wherein: One of the third weight-reducing portions is formed between any two of the preset regions adjacent to each other in the row direction, and one of the fourth weight-reducing portions is formed between any two of the preset regions adjacent to each other in the column direction.

10. The mask plate according to claim 7, wherein: A plurality of the third weight reduction parts are formed between any two of the preset areas adjacent along the row direction, and the plurality of the third weight reduction parts are arranged along the column direction or the row direction. A plurality of the fourth weight reduction parts are formed between any two of the preset areas adjacent along the column direction, and the plurality of the fourth weight reduction parts are arranged along the row direction or the column direction.

11. The mask plate according to claim 7, wherein: It also includes a fifth weight-reducing portion, which is disposed between adjacent third weight-reducing portions and / or adjacent fourth weight-reducing portions.

12. The mask plate according to claim 7, wherein: The distance between the third weight-reducing portion and the preset area is greater than or equal to 2 mm, and the distance between the fourth weight-reducing portion and the preset area is greater than or equal to 2 mm.

13. The mask plate according to claim 7, wherein: The width of the third weight-reducing portion along the direction between adjacent preset areas is less than or equal to the distance between adjacent preset areas minus 4 mm, and the width of the fourth weight-reducing portion along the direction between adjacent preset areas is less than or equal to the distance between adjacent preset areas minus 4 mm.

14. The mask plate according to claim 11, wherein: The minimum distance between the first preset area and the second preset area adjacent to each other along the row direction or the column direction is a preset value, wherein the first preset area is any one of the preset area, the third weight reduction part, the fourth weight reduction part, and the fifth weight reduction part, and the second preset area is any one of the preset area, the third weight reduction part, the fourth weight reduction part, and the fifth weight reduction part.

15. The mask plate according to claim 1, wherein: The mask plate includes a first surface and a second surface, and the first weight-reducing portion and / or the second weight-reducing portion are formed after etching the first surface and / or the second surface.

16. The mask plate according to claim 15, wherein: The first weight reduction portion formed after etching the first surface and the first weight reduction portion formed after etching the second surface have the same size along the thickness direction of the mask plate; the second weight reduction portion formed after etching the first surface and the second weight reduction portion formed after etching the second surface have the same size along the thickness direction of the mask plate.

17. The mask plate according to claim 1, wherein: The edge of the evaporation opening includes a straight area and a corner area, the first weight reduction portion includes a first arc angle area arranged opposite to the corner area, and the second weight reduction portion includes a second arc angle area arranged opposite to the first arc angle area on the side facing the evaporation opening.

18. A mask plate assembly, comprising the mask plate according to any one of claims 1 to 17; and further comprising a precision mask plate, wherein the precision mask plate is stacked on a side surface of the mask plate where the first weight reduction portion is disposed.

19. A method for using a mask plate, comprising: Providing a substrate to be evaporated, wherein the substrate to be evaporated includes a display area; A mask plate according to any one of claims 1 to 17 is provided, wherein the mask plate comprises an evaporation opening, wherein when the evaporation opening coincides with the center of the display area, a minimum spacing between a straight area of ​​an edge of the evaporation opening and an edge of the display area is a, and a minimum spacing between a corner area of ​​an edge of the evaporation opening and an edge of the display area is A, and a <A, The deposition side of the substrate to be deposited is attached to the mask plate so that the display area is aligned with the deposition opening, and the deposition material is sprayed toward the substrate to be deposited from the mask plate facing away from the substrate to be deposited.

20. The mask plate according to claim 19, wherein, 0.12 mm ≤ a < 0.2 mm, 0.12 mm <A≤0.2mm。

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