Flexible Display Substrate Chamfers for Stress Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional flexible display devices with continuous quadrangular substrates often suffer from interference with covering elements like windows, leading to cracking of the insulation layer and potential damage to the driver, due to external forces and stress distribution.
Innovation Solution
The flexible display device incorporates chamfers or bevels on the flexible substrate, particularly in the non-display area, to manage stress and prevent cracking by isolating the insulation layer from external interference, using a combination of organic and inorganic materials for the substrate and insulation layers, and a curved window edge design to minimize interference.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a continuous quadrangular flexible substrate is used, then the device structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the insulation layer cracks and driver is damaged due to external forces and stress
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible substrate is divided into multiple regions by forming chamfers or grooves that create segmented zones. These segments isolate different functional areas (display area, non-display area, driver area) from each other, preventing stress propagation across the entire substrate while maintaining manufacturing simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The chamfer or groove acts as an intermediary stress-absorbing feature between the rigid insulation layer and the flexible substrate. This intermediate structure absorbs external forces and prevents them from directly transmitting to the insulation layer, thereby protecting the driver circuit.
2Reliability
If chamfers or bevels are added to the flexible substrate, then stress transmission is controlled and cracking is prevented, but the device structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The chamfers or bevels are applied locally only at specific critical regions of the flexible substrate (such as corners or edges prone to stress), rather than modifying the entire substrate uniformly. This localized approach provides stress management where needed while minimizing overall structural complexity.
3Strength
If a window covers the display area and non-display area, then the device is protected, but the window edge interferes with the flexible substrate and causes cracking
Solution Approach 1:
The problematic corner or edge portions of the flexible substrate are removed or modified by forming chamfers, thereby extracting the vulnerable elements that would otherwise interfere with the window edge. This eliminates the source of stress concentration and cracking while preserving the protective function of the window.
Data Source
AI summary
A flexible display device including a display area for displaying an image and a non-display area neighboring the display area includes: a flexible substrate including a plurality of chamfers on respective ends corresponding to the non-display area; a display provided on the flexible substrate corresponding to the display area and displaying the image; and a driver provided on the flexible substrate corresponding to the non-display area and connected to the display.