Protrusion Mask for Flexible Display Trench Slope Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
In flexible AMOLED display panel manufacturing, the steep slope angles formed by conventional masks lead to source-drain metal residue at the junctions of trenches, causing short-circuits between adjacent data lines, resulting in defects and reduced display quality.
Innovation Solution
A mask design with protrusions on the edges of its regions, creating a slope angle less than 60° at the junctions of trenches, preventing source-drain metal residue from causing short-circuits by ensuring disconnection at the corners, thereby improving display panel effectiveness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional masks are used to form trenches, then the manufacturing process is simple, but the slope angle of the step formed at the junction of trenches is steep (greater than 60°), causing source-drain metal residue to remain and create short-circuits between adjacent data lines
Solution Approach 1:
The mask edge is segmented into multiple protrusions instead of a continuous straight edge. Each protrusion creates a separate etching zone that forms steps with controlled slope angles less than 60°, preventing metal residue accumulation and short-circuits between data lines.
Solution Approach 2:
The mask structure is modified locally at the edge regions where protrusions are added, while the rest of the mask maintains its conventional structure. This local modification specifically addresses the slope angle problem at trench junctions without affecting the overall manufacturing process.
2Reliability
If masks with protrusions are used to reduce slope angle, then short-circuit defects are reduced, but the mask structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The mask edge is divided into discrete protrusion elements with specific geometric parameters (width 1-10 μm, spacing 5-20 μm). This segmentation achieves the dual goal of controlling slope angles for electrical isolation while maintaining a relatively simple and manufacturable mask structure.
3Manufacturing precision
If the slope angle is reduced to prevent metal residue, then the display quality improves, but the etching process requires more precise control
Solution Approach 1:
The mask protrusions are designed in advance with specific dimensions and spacing to pre-determine the etching slope angle. This preliminary design of the mask structure ensures that the etching process naturally produces the desired slope angle less than 60°, reducing the need for complex real-time process control.
Data Source
AI summary
A mask for forming a trench in a flexible bendable region of a flexible display panel is provided. The mask includes a first region, a second region, and a third region sandwiched between the first and second regions in a first direction, and the third region has the same pattern as a pattern of a trench to be formed. Light transmission properties of the first and second regions are the same as each other, but are opposite to a light transmission property of the third region. An edge of at least one of the first and second regions proximal to the third region has a plurality of protrusions, and each of the plurality of protrusions has a vertex angle that is at a side proximal to the third region and is not more than 90°. A flexible display panel and a manufacturing method thereof are further provided.