Flexible Display Encapsulation with Patterned Inorganic and Organic Layers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Flexible OLED displays face stress-related fractures and peeling-offs due to the addition of inorganic layers, which reduces their lifespan and portability.
Innovation Solution
A flexible display design featuring patterned inorganic and organic layers, where the organic layers wrap the inorganic layers, creating gaps that prevent stress from focusing and causing fractures, and misaligning gap positions between neighboring inorganic layers to enhance durability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If an inorganic layer is added between the thin-film encapsulation layer and flexible base layer, then vapor and oxygen prevention is improved, but device thickness increases and stress increases leading to stratification
Solution Approach 1:
The inorganic layer is divided into multiple discrete patterned areas rather than a continuous layer. This segmentation reduces the overall stress accumulated in the inorganic layer, preventing stratification while maintaining effective barrier properties against vapor and oxygen penetration through the distributed patterned structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The inorganic layer is applied selectively in specific patterned areas rather than uniformly across the entire surface. This local application provides vapor and oxygen prevention exactly where needed (over the OLED elements) while reducing overall device thickness and stress in non-critical areas.
2Reliability
If an inorganic layer is added between the thin-film encapsulation layer and flexible base layer, then vapor and oxygen prevention is improved, but stress increases leading to fractures and peeling-offs
Solution Approach 1:
The inorganic layer is segmented into patterned areas that distribute stress across multiple discrete locations rather than concentrating it in a continuous structure. This segmentation prevents stress accumulation that would cause fractures and peeling at the interface between the inorganic layer and flexible base layer.
Solution Approach 2:
The inorganic layer is applied in a patterned configuration before final assembly, pre-distributing stress away from critical interfaces. This preliminary stress distribution prevents fractures and peeling-offs that would occur with a continuous inorganic layer under bending conditions.
3Ease of operation
If the flexible display bends, then portability is improved, but stress focuses on the interface between the organic layer and inorganic layer leading to fractures
Solution Approach 1:
The inorganic layer is divided into patterned areas that create stress distribution zones. When the flexible display bends, the segmented structure allows stress to be distributed across multiple discrete points rather than concentrated at the interface, preventing fractures while maintaining flexibility and portability.
Data Source
AI summary
A flexible display and a method of forming the flexible display are provided. The flexible display includes a flexible base, an OLED element disposing on the flexible base, an encapsulation layer disposed on the OLED element, with the flexible base and/or the encapsulation layer comprising one or more patterned inorganic layers and two or more organic layers, which are configured to wrap the inorganic layers. Therefore, when the stress focuses on the inorganic layer and leads to fractures and peeling-offs, the organic layers that wrapped the inorganic layer prevent the expansion of the fractures and peeling-offs, therefore extend the life of the flexible display being flexible and pliable.