Integrated Touch Sensing in OLED Thin Film Encapsulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing organic light emitting display apparatuses face challenges in maintaining thin and flexible form factors while integrating touch-screen functionality, as separate touch panels increase thickness and manufacturing costs, and introduce impurities during attachment.
Innovation Solution
An organic light emitting display apparatus with a thin film encapsulation layer that includes a plurality of inorganic and organic layers, incorporating a touch sensing layer with transparent conductive oxide materials, which serves both as a moisture barrier and touch screen functionality, eliminating the need for a separate touch panel.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a separate touch panel is attached to the organic light emitting display apparatus, then touch-screen functionality is achieved, but the thickness increases and manufacturing costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the touch sensing layer with the thin film encapsulation layer into a single integrated structure. The touch sensing layer includes transparent conductive oxide layers and inorganic layers that are formed simultaneously with or integrated into the encapsulation layers, eliminating the need for a separate touch panel attachment and thereby reducing overall thickness.
Solution Approach 2:
The thin film encapsulation layer serves dual functions: protecting the organic light emitting display apparatus from moisture and oxygen, and providing touch sensing functionality. By incorporating transparent conductive oxide layers and inorganic layers with both barrier and conductive properties, the structure achieves multi-functionality, reducing the need for additional separate components.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a separate touch panel is attached to the organic light emitting display apparatus, then touch-screen functionality is achieved, but manufacturing complexity and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the touch sensing layer formation process with the thin film encapsulation layer formation process. Both layers are created using the same sequential deposition methods (such as PECVD or ALD) in a single manufacturing sequence, eliminating the need for separate touch panel fabrication and attachment processes, thereby reducing manufacturing complexity and costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The same manufacturing processes and materials used for creating the encapsulation layers are also used to create the touch sensing layers. The transparent conductive oxide layers and inorganic layers serve both encapsulation and touch sensing functions, allowing a single manufacturing process to produce multiple functional layers simultaneously.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a separate touch panel is attached to the organic light emitting display apparatus, then touch-screen functionality is achieved, but impurities may infiltrate into the screen during the attaching process
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the formation of the encapsulation barrier layers and touch sensing layers into a single integrated process sequence. By forming both layers simultaneously or in close succession using the same deposition chamber and process conditions, the risk of impurity infiltration during separate attachment operations is eliminated, ensuring higher manufacturing precision and cleaner interfaces.
Data Source
AI summary
An organic light emitting display apparatus including a thin film encapsulation layer having a touch screen structure. The organic light emitting display apparatus includes a substrate; an organic light emitting diode (OLED) layer on the substrate; a thin film encapsulation layer on the OLED layer, and comprising a plurality of inorganic layers and a plurality of organic layers that are alternately stacked; and a touch sensing layer in the thin film encapsulation layer, wherein the touch sensing layer includes: a first touch conductive layer; a touch inorganic layer on the first touch conductive layer; and a second touch conductive layer on the touch inorganic layer, wherein the touch inorganic layer is one of the plurality of inorganic layers included in the thin film encapsulation layer.