Flexible Substrate Curved Sidewall Crack Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing flexible display devices face challenges in manufacturing high-yield, reliable products due to issues with crack generation during the processing of flexible substrates and insulating films, particularly at curved edges, which affects the display's reliability and manufacturing efficiency.
Innovation Solution
The manufacturing method involves forming a display device with a flexible substrate that includes an active region and a wiring region, where insulating films are partly removed from the edge of the substrate to create a curved sidewall structure that matches the curvature of the edge, thereby reducing stress and preventing crack formation during trimming and handling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If insulating films are completely removed from the edge of the flexible substrate, then the substrate can be trimmed more easily, but cracks may generate during trimming and handling
Solution Approach 1:
The insulating film is selectively removed only from specific regions (the active region and portions extending into the wiring region) while maintaining the film at the edges. This local differentiation allows easy trimming in the active region while preserving edge integrity to prevent cracks during handling.
Solution Approach 2:
The insulating film is removed in advance from the active region before final trimming and handling operations. This preliminary removal prevents crack generation during subsequent processing steps while the film remains intact at edges to provide structural support.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the flexible substrate is made highly flexible to enable bending and folding, then display versatility improves, but crack generation risk increases during processing
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible substrate exhibits different properties in different regions: the central active region maintains high flexibility for display functionality, while the edge regions retain the insulating film to provide structural reinforcement and crack resistance during handling and processing.
3Strength
If insulating films extend completely across the substrate including edges, then structural integrity is maintained, but manufacturing yield decreases due to crack generation
Solution Approach 1:
The insulating film coverage is optimized locally: it extends from the edges into the wiring region to maintain structural integrity and prevent edge cracks, while being removed from the active region to enable precise trimming and improve manufacturing yield.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a display device having a flexible substrate including an active region and a wiring region. The active region possesses a plurality of pixels each including a display element. The wiring region has a plurality of terminals, and a plurality of wirings extends from the active region to the plurality of terminals. An insulating film included in the active region and extending from the active region has a sidewall between an edge of the flexible substrate and the wiring adjacent to the edge in the wiring region. The sidewall has a curved portion on a plane in which the plurality of wirings is arranged, and a distance between the edge and the curved portion is curvedly varied.