Display Panel Guide Pattern Controls Organic Layer Spreading
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Solution Overview
Problem
Organic light emitting display panels are vulnerable to moisture and oxygen, which can damage the organic light emitting elements, leading to reliability and lifetime issues.
Innovation Solution
A display panel design featuring a base substrate with a through-hole and groove parts, a circuit layer, a display layer with inorganic and organic layers, and a guide pattern to control the spreading of the organic layer, enhancing encapsulation and process reliability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If an encapsulation layer is formed to protect the organic light emitting element from moisture and oxygen, then reliability is improved, but the manufacturing process becomes more complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The encapsulation layer is divided into multiple functional segments: a first inorganic layer for primary protection, an organic layer for filling and planarization, and a second inorganic layer for additional barrier protection. This segmentation allows each layer to perform its specific function while simplifying the overall manufacturing process.
Solution Approach 2:
The encapsulation layer uses a composite structure combining inorganic materials (silicon nitride or silicon oxide) and organic materials. This composite approach leverages the advantages of both material types - the barrier properties of inorganic layers and the flexibility/filling capabilities of organic layers - to achieve reliable protection without excessive complexity.
2Manufacturing precision
If a guide pattern is added to control the spreading of the organic layer, then manufacturing precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The guide pattern is formed in advance as part of the encapsulation layer structure before the organic layer is applied. This preliminary action defines the boundaries and spreading paths of the organic layer, ensuring precise control during subsequent manufacturing steps without requiring additional complex processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide pattern acts as an intermediary structure between the inorganic encapsulation layers and the organic layer. It provides physical guidance and boundaries that control the organic layer's spreading behavior, enabling precise manufacturing precision while maintaining relatively simple device complexity.
3Reliability
If a multilayer encapsulation structure is used to enhance protection, then reliability is improved, but process time increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple protective functions are merged into a single integrated encapsulation layer structure. The first inorganic layer, organic layer, and second inorganic layer are deposited in sequence as part of one continuous process, achieving enhanced protection without requiring separate, time-consuming steps for each protective function.
Solution Approach 2:
The encapsulation layer uses parameter changes in material deposition (such as adjusting deposition rate, temperature, and pressure) to optimize the thickness and properties of each layer. This allows for efficient manufacturing by adjusting process parameters rather than adding more steps, thereby reducing overall process time while maintaining reliability.
Data Source
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AI summary
A display panel includes a base substrate having a front surface and a rear surface and including a through-hole passing through the front surface and the rear surface, a hole area in which a groove part configured to surround the through-hole and recessed from the front surface is defined, an active area configured to surround the hole area, and a peripheral area adjacent to the active area, a circuit layer including a first circuit insulating layer disposed on the base substrate, a second circuit insulating layer disposed on the first circuit insulating layer, and a thin film transistor disposed on the active area, a display layer including a first display insulating layer disposed on the circuit layer, a second display insulating layer disposed on the first display insulating layer, and a light emitting element disposed on the active area and connected to the thin film transistor, a guide pattern disposed on the circuit layer and disposed between the light emitting element and the groove part, and an encapsulation layer configured to cover the light emitting element and including a first inorganic layer, a second inorganic layer, and an organic layer, wherein the organic layer covers at least a portion of the guide pattern.