Flexible Display Protector Layer Prevents Etching Damage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Flexible display panels face defects such as cracks in insulating layers and corrosion of conductive layers, particularly in bending areas due to physical deformation, which affect their structural integrity and performance.
Innovation Solution
The display device incorporates a specific layer structure with a protector layer that overlaps portions of the signal wires and conductive layers in the bending area, ensuring these layers are not directly exposed to etching processes that could cause cracking or corrosion, thereby maintaining their thickness and preventing defects.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the signal wire is exposed in the bending area to enable electrical connection, then electrical conductivity is improved, but the insulating layer becomes vulnerable to cracks and corrosion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a protector layer as an intermediary substance between the etching environment and the insulating layer. This protector layer specifically covers the signal wire regions in the bending area, allowing electrical connections to be formed while preventing etching agents from damaging the insulating layer and causing cracks or corrosion.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies the protector layer before the etching process to preemptively shield vulnerable areas. By covering the signal wires and insulating layer in the bending area prior to etching, the structure prevents potential damage from occurring in the first place, maintaining structural integrity while enabling necessary electrical connections.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the insulating layer is thickened to prevent corrosion, then protection against etching is improved, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of uniformly thickening the insulating layer across the entire display panel, the patent applies the protector layer specifically to the bending area where signal wires are exposed. This localized approach provides enhanced corrosion protection only where needed, avoiding unnecessary complexity and material usage in areas that do not require such protection.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the protector layer covers the signal wire, then protection against etching is improved, but the signal wire accessibility for connection is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The protector layer serves as a temporary intermediary that shields the signal wire and insulating layer during the etching process. After etching is complete, the protector layer is removed, restoring full accessibility to the signal wire for subsequent connection operations. This mediator approach allows protection during manufacturing without permanently impeding operational accessibility.
Data Source
AI summary
An embodiment of the present invention provides a display device including a substrate including a display area, and a peripheral area outside the display area and including a bending area, a first conductive layer including a first signal wire over the substrate, a first insulating layer over the first conductive layer, a second insulating layer in a different layer from the first insulating layer, overlapping the bending area, and having a first edge positioned around the bending area, and a protector over the second insulating layer, wherein the first signal wire is in the peripheral area, crosses the first edge of the second insulating layer, does not overlap the bending area, and includes a first portion not covered by the second insulating layer, and wherein the protector overlaps at least a portion of the first portion, and has an edge that is parallel with an edge of the first portion.