Flexible Substrate With Patterned Inorganic Strips
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional flexible substrates face issues with cracking of inorganic layers due to stress when bent, leading to water vapor and oxygen penetration, which damages the organic layers and affects the stability of flexible displays.
Innovation Solution
A flexible substrate design featuring patterned inorganic strips with staggered middle parts and overlapping side parts, combined with a polyimide organic layer, which balances stress and prevents penetration by overlapping inorganic layers, enhancing bending performance and insulation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If inorganic layers are made continuous to prevent water vapor and oxygen penetration, then insulation performance is improved, but bending performance deteriorates due to stress concentration and cracking
Solution Approach 1:
The continuous inorganic layers are divided into discrete first inorganic strips and second inorganic strips that are spaced apart rather than continuous. This segmentation reduces stress concentration during bending while maintaining insulation through the distributed strip structure and overlapping arrangement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a new spatial arrangement where inorganic strips are distributed in specific patterns with staggered middle parts and overlapping side parts. This dimensional reorganization allows the structure to accommodate bending stresses while maintaining protective coverage through the overlapping configuration.
2Strength
If inorganic layers are made thinner to improve flexibility, then bending performance is improved, but insulation performance deteriorates due to reduced barrier effectiveness
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the inorganic barrier into multiple distributed strips rather than a single thin continuous layer, the patent maintains effective insulation through the cumulative barrier effect of multiple strips while allowing each strip to be thinner and more flexible.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent compensates for reduced individual strip thickness by optimizing the spatial distribution pattern, including spacing and overlapping arrangements, which collectively maintain the barrier effectiveness across the substrate surface while enabling flexibility.
3Strength
If inorganic layers are patterned with spaced strips to reduce stress, then bending performance is improved, but insulation performance deteriorates due to increased penetration paths
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a specific two-dimensional pattern arrangement where inorganic strips are distributed with staggered middle parts and overlapping side parts. This patterned configuration maintains insulation by ensuring coverage continuity through the overlapping regions while allowing spacing in the middle parts to reduce stress.
Solution Approach 2:
The inorganic barrier is segmented into multiple strips with controlled spacing, where the gaps between middle parts are compensated by the overlapping side parts. This segmentation approach maintains both stress relief and insulation by distributing the barrier function across multiple elements.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a flexible substrate, comprising a first organic layer, a first inorganic layer, a second organic layer and a second inorganic layer. The first inorganic layer is located on the first organic layer. The first inorganic layer comprises first strips which are spaced. The first strip comprises a first middle part and two first side parts. The second organic layer covers the first inorganic layer. The second inorganic layer is located on one side of the second organic layer remote from the first organic layer. The second inorganic layer comprises second strips which are spaced. The second strip comprises a second middle part and two second side parts. An extension direction of the second strips is the same as an extension direction of the first strips, the second organic layer is partially interposed between two first strips and between two second strips which are adjacent.