Planar OLED Substrate Busbar Design
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional OLED substrate production is complex and inflexible due to the incorporation of electrical busbars, which can lead to short circuits and require intricate insulating coatings, especially with elevated busbars causing layer thickness inhomogeneities.
Innovation Solution
A novel substrate concept where electrical busbars and an optically functional structure, such as an internal extraction layer, are integrated in a single plane, allowing for a planar substrate design without elevated structures, enabling a simple and effective combination of busbar and optical functionality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If electrical busbars are incorporated in the substrate or deposited on the anode, then electrical energy can be combined and forwarded, but the production becomes complex and inflexible
Solution Approach 1:
The electrical busbar structure is segmented into multiple conductive layers (first conductive layer, second conductive layer) that can be independently formed and configured. This segmentation allows each layer to be optimized for specific functions and enables flexible adaptation to different OLED designs while maintaining manageable production complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The conductive layers serve multiple functions: they act as electrical busbars for energy transmission, provide structural support for the organic functional layer system, and enable flexible electrical connections. This multi-functionality reduces production complexity by eliminating the need for separate components while maintaining adaptability for different OLED configurations.
2Reliability
If elevated electrical busbars are used, then electrical energy can be forwarded, but layer thickness inhomogeneities occur causing short circuits
Solution Approach 1:
The electrical busbar function is transitioned from a three-dimensional elevated structure to a two-dimensional planar configuration. The conductive layers are formed within the same plane as the organic functional layer system, eliminating height differences that cause thickness inhomogeneities and short circuits while maintaining effective electrical energy transmission.
Solution Approach 2:
The electrical busbar structure is merged with the organic functional layer system by forming the conductive layers within the same plane. This merging eliminates the separation between electrical and optical functional layers, preventing short circuits caused by elevated busbars while ensuring reliable electrical energy forwarding through integrated conductive pathways.
3Reliability
If laterally structured insulating coating is applied for planarization, then short circuit risk is reduced, but processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The need for laterally structured insulating coatings is extracted and eliminated by redesigning the electrical busbar structure to be planar. The conductive layers are formed within the same plane as the organic functional layer system, removing the requirement for additional insulating coatings and laterally structured elements, thus reducing processing complexity while maintaining short circuit prevention.
Data Source
AI summary
A lighting device may include a substrate having a carrier, a first electrical busbar, a second electrical busbar, and an optically functional structure on or above the carrier, wherein the optically functional structure is formed laterally between the first and the second electrical busbar, and a first electrode electrically coupled to the first electrical busbar and/or the second electrical busbar, on or above the carrier, and an organic functional layer structure on or above the first electrode, wherein the organic functional layer structure is formed for converting an electric current into an electromagnetic radiation, and a second electrode on or above the organic functional layer structure. The optically functional structure is formed in such a way that the beam path of the electromagnetic radiation which passes through the substrate and/or the spectrum of the electromagnetic radiation passing through the substrate are/is variable by means of the optically functional structure.