Flexible Display Short Circuit Prevention Pattern
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Flexible display devices based on organic light-emitting technology are prone to damage, particularly cracking, due to the thin film structure which can be easily compromised during bending.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a substrate with a bending area and a first inorganic insulating layer having a specific opening configuration, combined with organic layers and conductive layers that include short circuit prevention patterns to distribute stress and prevent damage during bending.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the substrate is made flexible to enable bending, then adaptability is improved, but the thin film structure becomes more susceptible to cracking and damage
Solution Approach 1:
The inorganic insulating layer is segmented by forming openings that divide it into multiple regions. This segmentation allows the layer to better accommodate bending stresses by creating discontinuities that prevent stress concentration and crack propagation across the entire layer, thereby maintaining reliability while preserving flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The inorganic insulating layer is selectively removed in specific regions to form openings, creating local variations in structure. This local quality change allows the layer to have different properties in different areas - intact in some regions for protection and opened in others for stress relief during bending, resolving the contradiction between flexibility and crack resistance.
2Reliability
If the inorganic insulating layer is made continuous to provide protection, then reliability is improved, but stress concentration during bending increases leading to cracks
Solution Approach 1:
The continuous inorganic insulating layer is divided into separate regions by forming openings. This segmentation reduces stress concentration during bending by creating discontinuities that act as stress relief points, preventing crack initiation and propagation while maintaining protective coverage in the intact regions.
Solution Approach 2:
The openings in the inorganic insulating layer act as intermediary spaces that mediate the stress distribution during bending. These openings allow the structure to accommodate deformation more evenly, preventing stress concentration that would otherwise lead to cracking in a continuous layer.
3Device complexity
If the conductive layers are placed close together to reduce device complexity, then manufacturing is simplified, but the risk of short circuits increases
Solution Approach 1:
The organic layer serves as an intermediary barrier between adjacent conductive layers. By positioning the conductive layers on opposite sides of the organic layer, the structure provides electrical isolation while maintaining compact spacing, thus preventing short circuits without significantly increasing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The structure uses a composite arrangement of organic and inorganic layers between conductive layers. This composite material structure provides both electrical insulation and mechanical support, allowing conductive layers to be placed close together while maintaining reliability through the insulating properties of the organic and inorganic layers.
Data Source
AI summary
A display device including a substrate including a bending area arranged between a first area and a second area, the substrate being configured to be bent around a bending axis extending in a first direction, a first inorganic insulating layer disposed on the substrate and having a first opening overlapping the bending area, a first organic layer disposed in the first opening, and a plurality of first conductive layers disposed on the first organic layer and extending from the first area to the second area through the bending area, in which wherein at least one edge of the first organic layer overlapping the first conductive layers includes at least one first short circuit prevention pattern.