Flexible Display Patterned Trenches for Crack Isolation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Flexible display devices face issues with microcracks extending into the display area when folded, slid, or rolled, leading to defects, bubble formation, reduced adhesion, and water vapor blocking capability due to resistance in strip-shaped isolation structures and trenches, causing peeling and delamination.
Innovation Solution
A flexible display device design featuring a dielectric stack with a patterned trench forming island structures, arranged in a grid or staggered pattern, to surround the display area, reducing sealant resistance and improving gas exhaust efficiency, thereby preventing crack extension and enhancing adhesion and water vapor blocking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If strip-shaped isolation structures and strip-shaped trenches are used to prevent crack extension, then crack propagation is blocked, but resistance to sealant flow increases causing bubble formation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the isolation structure into multiple segments: strip-shaped isolation structures are combined with grid-shaped patterned trenches to create a multi-component isolation system. This segmentation allows the sealant to flow through multiple pathways while maintaining crack isolation functionality, reducing bubble formation caused by excessive resistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The grid-shaped patterned trenches act as intermediaries between the strip-shaped isolation structures and the sealant. These trenches provide additional flow pathways for the sealant, mediating the conflict between crack isolation and sealant flow by offering alternative routes that reduce resistance while maintaining structural isolation.
2Reliability
If strip-shaped isolation structures and strip-shaped trenches are used to prevent crack extension, then crack propagation is blocked, but adhesion and water vapor blocking capability are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The isolation system is segmented into strip-shaped isolation structures and grid-shaped patterned trenches, creating multiple small isolation zones rather than one large continuous structure. This segmentation maintains crack isolation effectiveness while preserving adhesion in the remaining areas, as the sealant can better penetrate and bond around the distributed segments.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the display device have different structural characteristics: the strip-shaped isolation structures provide primary crack isolation, while the grid-shaped patterned trenches in specific regions enhance sealant flow and adhesion. This local quality variation optimizes both crack resistance and adhesion in different areas simultaneously.
3Reliability
If strip-shaped isolation structures and strip-shaped trenches are used to prevent crack extension, then crack propagation is blocked, but gas exhaust efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The isolation system is segmented into multiple strip-shaped and grid-shaped components that create numerous small channels for gas escape. This segmentation provides multiple exhaust pathways, improving gas exhaust efficiency while maintaining the crack isolation function of the overall structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The grid-shaped patterned trenches serve as intermediary pathways that facilitate gas exhaust between the strip-shaped isolation structures. These trenches provide additional channels for trapped gas to escape during sealant application, mediating between the crack isolation function and the gas exhaust requirement.
Data Source
AI summary
A flexible display device includes a flexible substrate, a dielectric stack, a display medium layer, a sealant, and a protection sheet. The dielectric stack includes plural dielectric layers stacked on the flexible substrate. The dielectric stack has a patterned trench to define plural island structures. Each of the island structures is surrounded by the patterned trench. The dielectric stack includes a first portion and a second portion respectively at two opposite sides of the patterned trench. The display medium layer is located on the first portion of the dielectric stack to define a display area. The sealant covers the second portion of the dielectric stack, the patterned trench, and the island structures, and extends to a sidewall of the display medium layer. The protection sheet is located on the sealant and the display medium layer.