Display panel, manufacturing method for display panel, and display apparatus

Abstract

A display panel, a manufacturing method for a display panel, and a display apparatus. The display panel comprises a light-emitting area and a non-light-emitting area. The manufacturing method for the display panel comprises: providing a substrate layer; providing a color film layer on the substrate layer; depositing a planarization layer on the side of the color film layer away from the substrate layer; and performing thinning treatment on the planarization layer at least partially located in the light-emitting area. According to the display panel, thinning treatment is performed on the planarization layer at least partially located in the light-emitting area, so that the planarization layer at least partially located in the light-emitting area can be removed while the planarization effect of the planarization layer is ensured, thereby shortening the distance between a light-emitting layer and the color film layer, and further reducing light leakage.

Description

Display panel, display panel manufacturing method, and display device Technical Field

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

[0002] Display panels (backlight modules) are primarily used in various types of liquid crystal display devices, such as laptops, flat-screen TVs, mobile phones, car dashboards, billboards, and airport terminal displays. Their function is to uniformly illuminate the display panel with backlight, enhancing image brightness and color vividness. However, existing display panels suffer from severe light leakage, which urgently needs to be addressed.

[0003] Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this application is to provide a display panel, a method for manufacturing a display panel, and a display device.

[0005] According to a first aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a display panel is provided, the display panel having a light-emitting area and a non-light-emitting area, the display panel comprising:

[0006] substrate layer;

[0007] A color filter layer, the color filter layer is arranged above the substrate layer;

[0008] a flat layer, the flat layer being arranged on a side of the color filter layer facing away from the substrate layer;

[0009] The flat layer includes a luminous flat portion, which is arranged corresponding to the luminous area and is located above the color filter layer in the thickness direction of the display panel. The thickness of the luminous flat portion is greater than or equal to 0.4um and less than or equal to 4um.

[0010] In some embodiments, an orthographic projection of the light-emitting flat portion onto the substrate layer is located within an orthographic projection of the color filter layer onto the substrate layer.

[0011] In some embodiments, the color filter layer has a thickness greater than that of the light-emitting flat portion.

[0012] In some embodiments, the flat layer further includes an edge flat portion, which is arranged corresponding to the non-luminous area, and the thickness of the edge flat portion is greater than the thickness of the luminous flat portion, or the thickness of the edge flat portion is equal to the thickness of the luminous flat portion.

[0013] In some embodiments, when the thickness of the edge flat portion is greater than the thickness of the light emitting flat portion, the thickness of the light emitting flat portion is less than half of the thickness of the edge flat portion.

[0014] In some embodiments, the display panel further includes an anode hole provided on the flat layer, and the orthographic projection of the anode hole onto the substrate layer is located within the orthographic projection of the light-emitting flat portion onto the substrate layer, or the orthographic projection of the anode hole onto the substrate layer is located within the orthographic projection of the edge flat portion onto the substrate layer.

[0015] In some embodiments, when the thickness of the edge flat portion is greater than the thickness of the light emitting flat portion, a transition slope is included between the light emitting flat portion and the edge flat portion, and the gradient of the transition slope is less than or equal to 90°.

[0016] In some embodiments, the gradient of the transition slope is less than or equal to 75°.

[0017] In some embodiments, the display panel further includes a pixel definition layer, wherein the pixel definition layer covers a side of the transition slope facing away from the substrate layer.

[0018] In some embodiments, the thickness of the pixel definition layer covering the transition slope is greater than or equal to 0.5 um and less than or equal to 3 um.

[0019] In some embodiments, the display panel also includes a pixel definition layer, which covers the side of the flat layer facing away from the substrate layer, and the pixel definition layer has a pixel opening area, and the orthographic projection of the pixel opening area onto the substrate layer is located within the orthographic projection of the light-emitting flat portion onto the substrate layer.

[0020] In some embodiments, the pixel definition layer further includes a pixel thickness region, and an orthographic projection of the pixel thickness region onto the substrate layer at least partially overlaps with an orthographic projection of the light-emitting flat portion onto the substrate layer.

[0021] In some embodiments, in a first direction, the length of the light-emitting flat portion is smaller than the length of the color filter layer, and the light-emitting flat portion is located directly above the color filter layer in a thickness direction, and the first direction is perpendicular to the thickness direction.

[0022] According to a second aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a method for manufacturing a display panel is provided, for manufacturing the display panel described in the above embodiment, comprising:

[0023] providing a substrate layer;

[0024] Arranging a color filter layer on the substrate layer;

[0025] Depositing a flat layer on the side of the color filter layer facing away from the substrate layer;

[0026] The thickness of the planar layer at least partially located in the light-emitting area is smaller than the thickness of the planar layer corresponding to the non-light-emitting area.

[0027] According to a third aspect of the embodiments of the present application, a display device is provided, comprising the display panel as described in any one of the above embodiments.

[0028] The display panel of the present application performs a thinning process on the flat layer located at least partially in the light-emitting area. Under the premise of ensuring the flat effect of the flat layer, at least part of the flat layer located in the light-emitting area can be removed, thereby shortening the distance between the light-emitting layer and the color filter layer, and further reducing light leakage. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without any creative work.

[0030] FIG1 is a schematic structural diagram of a display panel according to the present application.

[0031] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a partial structure of a display panel according to the present application.

[0032] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a manufacturing process of a display panel according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0033] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a manufacturing process of a display panel according to another embodiment of the present application.

[0034] FIG5 is a schematic structural diagram of a display panel before thinning according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0035] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a display panel after thinning according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0036] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of another thinned structure of a display panel according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0037] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a display panel after further thinning according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0038] FIG. 9 is a flowchart of manufacturing a display panel according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0039] FIG. 10 is a flowchart of manufacturing a display panel according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0040] Description of reference numerals:

[0041] Display panel 10

[0042] Substrate layer 100

[0043] Driving circuit film layer 200

[0044] Control contact 210

[0045] Protective layer 300

[0046] Color film layer 400

[0047] Flat layer 500

[0048] Anode hole 510

[0049] Light-emitting flat portion 520

[0050] Edge flat portion 530

[0051] Transition slope 540

[0052] Anode layer 600

[0053] Light-emitting layer 700

[0054] Cathode layer 800

[0055] Mask 900

[0056] First area 910

[0057] Second area 920

[0058] Third area 930

[0059] Pixel definition layer 1000

[0060] Pixel opening area 1000a

[0061] Pixel thickness area 1000b

[0062] Photoresist 1100

[0063] First direction H DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0064] Exemplary embodiments will be described in detail herein, with examples illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following description, when referring to the drawings, identical numerals in different figures represent identical or similar elements, unless otherwise indicated. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments are not intended to represent all embodiments consistent with the present application. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatus and methods consistent with certain aspects of the present application, as detailed in the appended claims.

[0065] The terms used in this application are for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and are not intended to limit this application. Unless otherwise defined, technical or scientific terms used in this application should have the ordinary meaning understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs. The use of "a" or "an," and similar terms in this specification and claims does not indicate a limitation of quantity, but rather indicates the presence of at least one. "Multiple" means two or more. "Include" or "comprising," and similar terms mean that the elements or objects listed before "include" or "comprising" include the elements or objects listed after "include" or "comprising," and their equivalents, and do not exclude other elements or objects. "Connected" or "connected," and similar terms are not limited to physical or mechanical connections and can include electrical connections, whether direct or indirect. "On" and / or "below," and similar terms are for convenience of description only and are not limited to a single position or spatial orientation. As used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "the," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will also be understood that the term "and / or" as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0066] “At least one of A, B and C” has the same meaning as “at least one of A, B or C” and both include the following combinations of A, B and C: A only, B only, C only, the combination of A and B, the combination of A and C, the combination of B and C, and the combination of A, B and C.

[0067] “A and / or B” includes the following three combinations: A only, B only, and a combination of A and B.

[0068] The use of "adapted to" or "configured to" in this specification is intended to be open and inclusive language that does not exclude devices adapted or configured to perform additional tasks or steps.

[0069] The triangles, rectangles, trapezoids, pentagons or hexagons used in the specification and claims of this application are not in the strict sense, and may be approximate triangles, rectangles, trapezoids, pentagons or hexagons, etc. There may be some small deformations caused by tolerances, and there may be chamfers, arc edges and deformations.

[0070] The term "about" as used in the present specification and claims refers to a numerical value that is not strictly limited and allows for process and measurement errors.

[0071] In an exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG1 , the display panel 10 includes a substrate layer 100 , a driving circuit film layer 200 , a color filter layer 400 , a planarization layer 500 , an anode layer 600 , a pixel definition layer 1000 , a light emitting layer 700 , and a cathode layer 800 .

[0072] The substrate layer 100 is the bottom layer of the display panel 10 and is typically made of materials such as glass or plastic. The substrate layer 100 provides support and protection for the display panel 10. In certain display technologies, it can also serve as a carrier for electrodes or optical gratings. The driver circuit layer 200 is a crucial component of the display screen. Located above the substrate layer 100, it controls the switching of pixels and adjusts brightness. The driver circuit layer 200 typically consists of a set of thin-film circuits that enable signal transmission and processing. The color filter layer 400 is the color filter of the display panel 10 and is typically located above the driver circuit layer 200. The color filter layer 400 filters white light into its three primary colors of red, green, and blue, thereby enabling color display. The planarization layer 500 overlies the color filter layer 400 and the driver circuit layer 200. The anode layer 600, typically located above the color filter layer 400, serves as the positive electrode of the display panel 10, providing positive voltage to the pixels. The anode layer 600 is typically made of a transparent conductive material, such as indium tin oxide (ITO). The pixel definition layer 1000 is typically used to define the properties of each pixel in the image, such as color, transparency, etc. The pixel definition layer 1000 can be regarded as the basic building block of the image, which describes the specific characteristics and properties of each pixel in the image. The light-emitting layer 700 is the light-emitting part of the display panel 10, which is located between the pixel definition layers 1000. The light-emitting layer 700 is used to simulate the light emitted by an object or the light emitted by a light source to produce a luminous effect. The cathode layer 800 is typically located above the light-emitting layer 700. It is the negative electrode of the display panel 10 and is responsible for providing a negative voltage to the pixel. The cathode layer 800 is typically made of tungsten or other materials and can emit electron beams.

[0073] After the driver circuit film layer 200 and color filter layer 400 are fabricated, a flattening layer 500 with excellent leveling properties is used to fill the step differences. Generally, the larger the step difference, the thicker the flattening layer 500. The thickness of the flattening layer 500 is typically greater than 4 μm. As shown in Figure 1 , the distance between the light-emitting layer 700 and the color filter layer 400 is significant, making it easy for light to leak from the sides of the light-emitting layer 700. In Figure 1 , light leaking from the sides of the light-emitting layer 700 can escape from the display panel 10 in the direction indicated by the arrows.

[0074] With reference to Figures 6, 7, and 8, the present application further provides a display panel 10 comprising: a substrate layer 100, a color filter layer 400, and a planar layer 500. The display panel 10 further comprises a light-emitting region and a non-light-emitting region. The color filter layer 400 is disposed above the substrate layer 100; the planar layer 500 is disposed on the side of the color filter layer 400 facing away from the substrate layer 100; the planar layer 500 includes a light-emitting flat portion 520, which is disposed corresponding to the light-emitting region and is located above the color filter layer 400 in the thickness direction of the display panel 10. The thickness of the light-emitting flat portion 520 is greater than or equal to 0.4 μm and less than or equal to 4 μm. At the same time, an anode layer 600 corresponding to the color filter layer 400 is arranged on the side of the flat layer 500 away from the substrate layer 100; a light-emitting layer 700 is arranged on the side of the anode layer 600 away from the substrate layer 100; and a cathode layer 800 is arranged on the side of the light-emitting layer 700 away from the substrate layer 100.

[0075] Generally, the thickness of the flat layer 500 needs to be greater than 4 μm to better achieve the flat effect of the flat layer 500. Therefore, the thickness of the light-emitting flat portion 520 is set to be greater than or equal to 0.4 μm and less than or equal to 4 μm, that is, the light-emitting flat portion 520 is thinned through a thinning process.

[0076] 1 , 6 , and 7 , because the thickness of the light-emitting flat portion 520 is thinner than that of the flat layer 500 of normal thickness, the light-emitting layer 700 located on the light-emitting flat portion 520 is closer to the thickness of the color filter layer 400 . As a result, the color filter layer 400 can transmit more light emitted by the light-emitting layer 700, thereby reducing light leakage from the light-emitting layer 700 .

[0077] 6 , the thickness of the color filter layer 400 is greater than the thickness of the flat light-emitting portion 520. When the thickness of the flat light-emitting portion 520 is less than the thickness of the color filter layer 400, the light-emitting layer 700 is sufficiently close to the thickness of the color filter layer 400, thereby reducing light leakage from the light-emitting layer 700.

[0078] Preferably, in this embodiment, the thickness of the light-emitting flat portion 520 is reduced to between 1 / 3 and 1 / 2 of the thickness of the original flat layer 500. The inventors have found through extensive experiments that within this range, the light-emitting flat portion 520 can achieve the basic flatness of the flat layer 500 while also bringing the light-emitting layer 700 closer to the color filter layer 400. This allows the color filter layer 400 to transmit more light from the light-emitting layer 700, thereby reducing light leakage from the light-emitting layer 700.

[0079] In one embodiment, as shown in FIG5 , the orthographic projection of the flat light-emitting portion 520 onto the substrate layer 100 is located within the orthographic projection of the color filter layer 400 onto the substrate layer 100. This arrangement allows the light-emitting layer 700 located on the flat light-emitting portion 520 to be directly aligned with the color filter layer 400, thereby preventing light leakage caused by light not being emitted from the color filter layer 400 due to the offset between the flat light-emitting portion 520 and the color filter layer 400.

[0080] In one embodiment, as shown in Figures 6 and 7 , the planarization layer 500 further includes a flat edge portion 530. The flat edge portion 530 is disposed corresponding to the non-luminescent region, and the thickness of the flat edge portion 530 is equal to the thickness of the luminescent flat portion 520. In this case, a mask 900 is provided as shown in Figure 3 . The advantage of setting the thickness of the flat edge portion 530 equal to the thickness of the luminescent flat portion 520 is that after the planarization layer 500 is thinned, the layer of the planarization layer 500 used to arrange the anode layer 600 is flat, thus eliminating the need for additional fabrication steps compared to previous fabrication processes.

[0081] In one embodiment, as shown in FIG7 , the thickness of the edge flat portion 530 is greater than the thickness of the light-emitting flat portion 520. This corresponds to the mask 900 shown in FIG4 . The advantages of making the edge flat portion 530 thicker than the light-emitting flat portion 520 are that, on the one hand, only a portion of the flat portion needs to be thinned, thereby ensuring the effectiveness of the flat portion; and, on the other hand, it provides positioning for the subsequent arrangement of the anode layer 600, the light-emitting layer 700, and the cathode layer 800.

[0082] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG7 , when the thickness of the flat edge portion 530 is greater than that of the flat light-emitting portion 520, a transition slope 540 is defined between the flat light-emitting portion 520 and the flat edge portion 530. The slope of the transition slope 540 is less than or equal to 90°. The thickness of the flat light-emitting portion 520 can be set to be less than half the thickness of the flat edge portion 530. This arrangement ensures a significant height difference between the flat light-emitting portion 520 and the flat edge portion 530, making it easier to arrange components such as the anode layer 600 and the light-emitting layer 700 on the flat light-emitting portion 520. Furthermore, the display panel 10 further includes an anode layer 600, which is disposed on the flat light-emitting portion 520 and extends to the flat edge portion 530.

[0083] 7 , since the anode layer 600 needs to be disposed on the transition slope 540, and the anode is generally made of materials such as indium tin oxide (ITO), a large slope can easily cause the anode layer 600 to break, thereby affecting the display quality of the display panel 10. Setting the slope of the transition slope 540 to be less than or equal to 90° can effectively reduce the risk of the anode layer 600 breaking.

[0084] Preferably, the gradient of the transition slope 540 is less than or equal to 75°. Within this range, the anode layer 600 is substantially free from the risk of fracture, and the function of the anode layer 600 itself can be well realized.

[0085] In one embodiment, the display panel 10 further includes an anode hole 510 provided on the flat layer 400 , wherein the orthographic projection of the anode hole 510 onto the substrate layer 100 is located within the orthographic projection of the light-emitting flat portion 520 onto the substrate layer 100 , or the orthographic projection of the anode hole 510 onto the substrate layer 100 is located within the orthographic projection of the edge flat portion 530 onto the substrate layer 100 .

[0086] Based on the above configuration, the anode hole 510 can be provided in the light emitting flat portion 520 or the edge flat portion 530 , so that it will not be affected by the size of the light emitting flat portion 520 or the edge flat portion 530 in the first direction H, thereby ensuring the stability of the connection of the anode layer 600 .

[0087] In one embodiment, as shown in FIG8 , the light-emitting flat portion 520 may be enlarged corresponding to the anode layer 600 so that the anode layer 600 is laid on the light-emitting flat portion 520 , and the anode layer 600 does not need to climb, thereby avoiding the risk of the anode layer 600 breaking due to climbing.

[0088] In one embodiment, referring to FIG. 5 , FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 , the display panel 10 further includes a pixel definition layer 1000 . The pixel definition layer 1000 covers a side of the transition slope 540 facing away from the substrate layer 100 .

[0089] Through the above configuration, the pixel definition layer 1000 can define pixels within the region of the light-emitting flat portion 520, thereby facilitating the subsequent configuration of the light-emitting layer 700 and the anode layer 600. Furthermore, the pixel definition layer 1000 can be configured to be black to block light from leaking from the sides, thereby reducing the occurrence of light leakage.

[0090] Furthermore, referring to FIG. 7 , the thickness d of the pixel definition layer 1000 covering the transition slope 540 is greater than or equal to 0.5 um and less than or equal to 3 um.

[0091] With this arrangement, because the pixel definition layer 1000 partially protrudes between the anode layer 600 and the light-emitting layer 700, it is difficult for the pixel definition layer 1000 to separate from the transition slope 540, thereby ensuring the stability of the pixels defined by the pixel definition layer 1000. Furthermore, the pixel definition layer 1000 can be configured to be black, and when its thickness is within the above range, it can substantially block light from leaking from the sides, thereby reducing the occurrence of light leakage.

[0092] In one embodiment, as shown in FIG1 , the pixel definition layer 1000 covers the side of the planar layer 500 facing away from the substrate layer 100. The pixel definition layer 1000 includes a pixel opening area 1000a. The orthographic projection of the pixel opening area 1000a onto the substrate layer 100 is located within the orthographic projection of the light-emitting flat portion 520 onto the substrate layer 100. This arrangement ensures that the pixel opening area 1000a is aligned with the light-emitting flat portion 520, thereby ensuring that light emitted by the light-emitting layer 700 located on the light-emitting flat portion 520 passes through the color filter layer 400 to the greatest extent possible.

[0093] Continuing with FIG1 , the pixel definition layer 1000 further includes a pixel thickness region 1000 b . The orthographic projection of the pixel thickness region 1000 b onto the substrate layer 100 at least partially overlaps with the orthographic projection of the flat light-emitting portion 520 onto the substrate layer 100. Positioning the pixel thickness region 1000 b above the flat light-emitting portion 520 maximizes the definition and protection of the light-emitting layer 700.

[0094] In one embodiment, the length of the light-emitting flat portion 520 is smaller than that of the color filter layer 400 , and the light-emitting flat portion 520 is located directly above the color filter layer 400 in the thickness direction, and the first direction H is perpendicular to the thickness direction.

[0095] By setting the length of the light-emitting flat portion 520 to be smaller than the length of the color filter layer 400 and positioning the light-emitting flat portion 520 directly above the color filter layer 400 in the thickness direction, the light-emitting flat portion 520 can be completely within the range of the color filter layer 400. Therefore, the light-emitting layer 700 arranged thereon must be arranged above the color filter layer 400, thereby ensuring the correspondence between the color filter layer 400 and the light-emitting layer 700.

[0096] As shown in FIG. 2 , FIG. 3 , FIG. 4 , FIG. 8 , and FIG. 9 , the present application further provides a method for manufacturing the display panel 10 . The display panel 10 includes a light-emitting area and a non-light-emitting area. The manufacturing method further includes the following steps:

[0097] Step S1: providing a substrate layer 100;

[0098] Step S2: providing a color filter layer 400 on the substrate layer 100;

[0099] Step S3: depositing a flat layer 500 on the side of the color filter layer 400 facing away from the substrate layer 100;

[0100] Step S4: performing a thinning process on at least a portion of the planar layer 500 located in the light-emitting area.

[0101] After the above preparation process, the following steps may also be included:

[0102] Step S5: disposing an anode layer 600 corresponding to the color filter layer 400 on a side of the planar layer 500 facing away from the substrate layer 100 ;

[0103] Step S6: disposing a light-emitting layer 700 on the side of the anode layer 600 facing away from the substrate layer 100 ;

[0104] Step S7 : disposing a cathode layer 800 on the side of the light-emitting layer 700 facing away from the substrate layer 100 .

[0105] As shown in Figures 5 and 6, through the above steps, while ensuring the flatness of the flat layer 500, at least a portion of the flat layer 500 located in the light-emitting area can be removed, thereby shortening the distance between the light-emitting layer 700 and the color filter layer 400, and then making the light of the light-emitting layer 700 mainly emitted from the color filter layer 400, thereby reducing light leakage of the light-emitting layer 700.

[0106] Furthermore, referring to Figures 5, 6 and 7, the flat layer 500 at least partially located in the light-emitting area is subjected to a thinning process, including: thinning the entire flat layer 500 as shown in Figure 6, or thinning the flat layer 500 located in the light-emitting area as shown in Figure 7.

[0107] As described above, thinning the entire flat layer 500 can, on the one hand, shorten the distance between the light-emitting layer 700 and the color filter layer 400 while ensuring the flatness of the flat layer 500. On the other hand, it can make the display panel 10 thinner, thereby saving internal space in the device and allowing designers to use more space for other components such as batteries and heat dissipation systems, thereby improving overall performance and functionality. Thinning the flat layer 500 located in the light-emitting area can reduce only the thinned area, compared to thinning the entire flat layer 500, thereby ensuring the reliability of the flat layer 500. In addition, thinning only the flat layer 500 located in the light-emitting area can better position the subsequently installed anode layer 600, light-emitting layer 700, and cathode layer 800.

[0108] In one embodiment, the thickness of the thinned flattening layer 500 is greater than or equal to 0.4 μm. To achieve a flattening effect on the flattening layer 500, it is necessary to achieve a certain thickness during deposition. Therefore, it is not possible to achieve a thinning effect by directly depositing a flattening layer 500 of a smaller thickness. The thickness of a conventional flattening layer 500 is generally 4 μm ± 0.2 μm. Considering that its etching uniformity is ±10%, it is necessary to retain at least a 0.4 μm margin to ensure that it does not etch through the flattening layer 500, thereby damaging the color filter layer 400 located thereunder. Therefore, in this embodiment, the thickness of the thinned flattening layer 500 is set to be greater than or equal to 0.4 μm to prevent damage to the color filter layer 400.

[0109] In one embodiment, before disposing the color filter layer 400 on the substrate layer 100 and after providing the substrate layer 100, the method further includes: forming a driving circuit film layer 200 and a protective layer 300 on the substrate layer 100, wherein the protective layer 300 covers the control contact 210 on the driving circuit film layer 200 and is located between the substrate layer 100 and the color filter layer 400; before performing a thinning process on at least a portion of the flat layer 500, after forming the flat layer 500 by a deposition process on a side of the color filter layer 400 facing away from the substrate layer 100, the method further includes: punching the flat layer 500 to form an anode hole 510 passing through the flat layer 500, wherein the anode hole 510 is located above the control contact 210; one end of the anode hole 510 is connected to the protective layer 300; and while performing a thinning process on at least a portion of the flat layer 500, a portion of the protective layer 300 connected to the anode hole 510 is punched.

[0110] Based on the above operation, the thinning process of the planar layer 500 and the punching process of the protective layer 300 are performed simultaneously, thereby saving the process of manufacturing the display panel 10 and further saving the time of the manufacturing process.

[0111] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the same mask 900 is used for performing the thinning process on at least a portion of the planar layer 500 and for performing the hole punching process on the protection layer 300 .

[0112] The process of thinning at least a portion of the flat layer 500 is as follows: first, applying a photoresist 1100 on the flat layer 500; second, using a mask 900 to remove the flat layer 500.

[0113] The photoresist 1100 above the exposed portion is exposed; third, the planar layer 500 corresponding to the exposed portion of the photoresist 1100 is removed. The function of the mask 900 is to transfer the pattern to a specific area on the substrate by irradiating light onto a photosensitive material and performing photolithography using the pattern on the mask. The photoresist 1100 can convert light energy into chemical or physical changes, and the pattern on the mask is transferred to the photoresist 1100 layer through photolithography. When light is irradiated on the photoresist 1100, the photoresist 1100 undergoes a chemical reaction or physical change, forming exposed areas and unexposed areas. Thus, during the etching process, the photoresist 1100 in the exposed areas is removed or altered to achieve the desired pattern transfer. In the above process, using the same mask 900 for the thinning process of the planar layer 500 and the punching process of the protective layer 300 can reduce the number of times the mask 900 is used, thereby avoiding the need to switch and manufacture multiple masks 900, thereby saving manufacturing time and costs.

[0114] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG3 , the mask 900 includes a first region 910 and a second region 920. The first region 910 and the second region 920 are configured to be light-transmissive, with the first region having a greater transmittance than the second region. The first region 910 corresponds to the anode hole 510, and the second region 920 corresponds to the entire planar layer 500. It should be noted that regions with greater transmittance have a faster thinning rate, and vice versa.

[0115] The portion to be removed is exposed using the mask 900. Specifically, light is applied to the end of the mask 900 facing away from the planar layer 500. The light passes through the first region 910 and the second region 920 and shines on the portion of the photoresist 1100 to be removed, causing a chemical reaction or physical change in the photoresist 1100, which then reacts with the underlying protective layer 300 and the planar layer 500. The user can adjust the transmittance of the first region 910 and the second region 920 to adjust the thickness of the planar layer 500 and the rate of drilling in the protective layer 300, thereby completing the thinning and drilling processes simultaneously. For example, the transmittance of the first region 910 can be controlled to 100%, while the transmittance of the second region 920 can be controlled to 50%. Alternatively, the transmittance of the first region 910 can be controlled to 100%, while the transmittance of the second region 920 can be controlled to 30%.

[0116] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG4 , the mask 900 may further be configured to include a first region 910, a second region 920, and a third region 930. The first region 910 and the second region 920 are light-transmissive, and the third region 930 is non-light-transmissive. The first region 910 corresponds to the anode hole 510, the second region 920 corresponds to the planar layer 500 located in the light-emitting region, and the third region 930 corresponds to the planar layer 500 located in the non-light-emitting region. As described above, the mask 900 is used to expose the portion to be removed and will not be further described.

[0117] The present application also provides a display device comprising the display panel 10 described in the above embodiment. Because the display device comprises the display panel 10 described in the above embodiment, the display device also possesses the functions and advantages of the display panel 10. The display device can be an electronic device with a display function, such as a mobile phone, a computer, or a tablet computer.

[0118] In this application, the structural embodiments and method embodiments may complement each other if they do not conflict.

[0119] The above description is intended to be illustrative rather than restrictive. For example, the above examples (or one or more of their solutions) can be used in combination with each other. For example, those of ordinary skill in the art may use other embodiments when reading the above description. In addition, in the above-mentioned specific embodiments, various features can be grouped together to simplify the application. This should not be interpreted as an intention that the features of an application that does not require protection are necessary for any claim. On the contrary, the subject matter of the present application may be less than all the features of the embodiments of a specific application. Thus, the following claims are incorporated into the specific embodiments as examples or embodiments, wherein each claim is independently a separate embodiment, and it is considered that these embodiments can be combined with each other in various combinations or arrangements. The scope of the present application should be determined with reference to the appended claims and the full scope of equivalents to which these claims are entitled.

[0120] This application describes exemplary embodiments with reference to cross-sectional views and / or plan views that are idealized exemplary drawings. In the drawings, the thicknesses of layers and regions are exaggerated for clarity. Therefore, variations in shape relative to the drawings due to, for example, manufacturing techniques and / or tolerances are contemplated. Therefore, the exemplary embodiments should not be construed as limited to the shapes of the regions shown in this application, but rather include deviations in shape due to, for example, manufacturing. For example, an etched region shown as a rectangle will typically have curved features. Therefore, the regions shown in the drawings are schematic in nature, and their shapes are not intended to illustrate the actual shape of regions of the device and are not intended to limit the scope of the exemplary embodiments.

[0121] When describing some embodiments, the expressions "coupled" and "connected" and their derivatives may be used. For example, when describing some embodiments, the term "connected" may be used to indicate that two or more components are in direct physical or electrical contact with each other. For another example, when describing some embodiments, the term "coupled" may be used to indicate that two or more components are in direct physical or electrical contact. However, the term "coupled" or "communicatively coupled" may also refer to two or more components that are not in direct contact with each other, but still cooperate or interact with each other. The embodiments disclosed herein are not necessarily limited to the contents of this document.

[0122] In this application, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance. The terms "plurality" and "several" refer to two or more, unless otherwise clearly defined.

[0123] Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate other embodiments of the present invention after considering the specification and practicing the disclosure of this application. This application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the present invention that follow the general principles of this application and include common knowledge or customary techniques in the art not disclosed herein. The description and examples are to be considered merely as exemplary, and the true scope and spirit of this application are indicated by the following claims.

[0124] It should be understood that the present application is not limited to the exact structures described above and shown in the drawings, and that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope thereof. The scope of the present application is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A display panel, comprising a light-emitting area and a non-light-emitting area, characterized in that: include: substrate layer; A color filter layer, the color filter layer is arranged above the substrate layer; A flat layer, the flat layer is arranged on a side of the color filter layer away from the substrate layer; The flat layer includes a light-emitting flat portion, which is arranged corresponding to the light-emitting area and is located above the color filter layer in the thickness direction of the display panel. The thickness of the light-emitting flat portion is greater than or equal to 0.4um and less than or equal to 4um.

2. The display panel according to claim 1, wherein: The orthographic projection of the light-emitting flat portion onto the substrate layer is located within the orthographic projection of the color filter layer onto the substrate layer.

3. The display panel according to claim 1, wherein: The thickness of the color filter layer is greater than the thickness of the light-emitting flat portion.

4. The display panel according to claim 1, wherein: The flat layer further includes an edge flat portion, which is arranged corresponding to the non-luminous area, and has a thickness greater than that of the luminous flat portion, or a thickness equal to that of the luminous flat portion.

5. The display panel according to claim 4, wherein: When the thickness of the edge flat portion is greater than the thickness of the light emitting flat portion, the thickness of the light emitting flat portion is less than half of the thickness of the edge flat portion.

6. The display panel according to claim 4, wherein: When the thickness of the edge flat portion is greater than the thickness of the light emitting flat portion, a transition slope is included between the light emitting flat portion and the edge flat portion, and the gradient of the transition slope is less than or equal to 90°.

7. The display panel according to claim 6, wherein: The gradient of the transition slope is less than or equal to 75°.

8. The display panel according to claim 6, wherein: The display panel further includes an anode hole arranged on the flat layer, wherein the orthographic projection of the anode hole onto the substrate layer is located within the orthographic projection of the light-emitting flat portion onto the substrate layer, or the orthographic projection of the anode hole onto the substrate layer is located within the orthographic projection of the edge flat portion onto the substrate layer.

9. The display panel according to claim 6, wherein: The display panel further includes a pixel definition layer, and the pixel definition layer covers a side of the transition slope away from the substrate layer.

10. The display panel according to claim 9, wherein: The thickness of the pixel definition layer covering the transition slope is greater than or equal to 0.5um and less than or equal to 3um.

11. The display panel according to claim 1, wherein: The display panel also includes a pixel definition layer, which covers the side of the flat layer away from the substrate layer, and the pixel definition layer has a pixel opening area, and the orthographic projection of the pixel opening area onto the substrate layer is located within the orthographic projection of the light-emitting flat portion onto the substrate layer.

12. The display panel according to claim 11, wherein: The pixel definition layer further includes a pixel thickness region, and an orthographic projection of the pixel thickness region onto the substrate layer is at least partially overlapped with an orthographic projection of the light-emitting flat portion onto the substrate layer.

13. The display panel according to claim 1, wherein: In a first direction, the length of the light-emitting flat portion is smaller than the length of the color filter layer, and the light-emitting flat portion is located directly above the color filter layer in a thickness direction, and the first direction is perpendicular to the thickness direction.

14. A method for preparing a display panel, used for preparing a display panel according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that: include: providing a substrate layer; Disposing a color filter layer on the substrate layer; Depositing a flat layer on the side of the color filter layer facing away from the substrate layer; The thickness of the planar layer at least partially located in the light-emitting area is smaller than the thickness of the planar layer corresponding to the non-light-emitting area.

15. A display device, characterized in that: The display device comprises the display panel according to any one of claims 1-13.

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