Flexible Display Panel Layout for Bend Stress Isolation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Flexible display panels face structural instability and risk of internal circuit breakage when subjected to bending stress, as existing technologies fail to provide adequate structural stability and bendability.
Innovation Solution
A flexible display panel design featuring a substrate with island and bridge regions, hollow areas surrounded by spacers, and wire structures electrically connected to display units, where spacers and buffer layers are made of the same inorganic material to absorb and distribute stress, preventing damage to the wire structures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the display panel is made flexible to enable bending, then bendability is improved, but structural stability deteriorates due to stress generated by bending
Solution Approach 1:
The substrate is divided into multiple island regions and bridge regions, creating a segmented structure that allows different areas to handle stress differently. The bridge regions act as stress relief zones while the island regions maintain structural integrity for device placement.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the substrate are given different functional properties - island regions are designed for device mounting with higher structural rigidity, while bridge regions are designed with hollow spaces and spacers to provide flexibility and stress relief, creating local quality variations throughout the substrate.
2Adaptability or versatility
If bending stress is applied to achieve flexibility, then adaptability is improved, but internal circuit breakage risk increases due to excessive stress
Solution Approach 1:
Spacers are introduced as intermediary elements between the wire structures and the substrate surface. These spacers act as protective mediators that prevent direct stress transmission from the substrate to the delicate wire structures and circuits during bending.
Solution Approach 2:
The wire structures are covered with protective layers that provide beforehand cushioning against stress and damage. This protective coating is applied in advance to prevent circuit breakage before stress occurs during bending operations.
3Ease of operation
If wire structures are placed on bridge regions for connectivity, then electrical connection is improved, but stress exposure increases making circuits more vulnerable
Solution Approach 1:
The spacers serve as protective intermediaries positioned between the wire structures on the bridge regions and the substrate. They reduce direct stress exposure to the wire structures while maintaining their electrical connectivity function across the bridge regions.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective layers covering the wire structures act as flexible shells that protect the circuits from stress while allowing the overall structure to remain flexible. These thin film protective layers conform to the bent shape while shielding the underlying circuits.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides a flexible display panel, which includes a substrate, a plurality of hollow regions, a plurality of display units, a plurality of wire structures, and a plurality of spacers. The substrate is defined as a plurality of island regions and a plurality of bridge regions. Each of the hollow regions is surrounded by four adjacent of the island regions and four adjacent of the bridge regions. The display units are respectively disposed on the island regions of the substrate. The wire structures are respectively disposed on the bridge regions and electrically connected to the display units. Each of the wire structures includes at least one wire layer including at least one wire disposed on the substrate. The spacers are disposed on and in contact with the substrate, and respectively surround the hollow regions, and separated from the wire structures to control etching sizing.