WO2018219137A1

WO2018219137A1 - Method for manufacturing flexible panel

Info

Publication number: WO2018219137A1
Application number: PCT/CN2018/086842
Authority: WO
Inventors: 李钊
Original assignee: 京东方科技集团股份有限公司
Priority date: 2017-05-31
Filing date: 2018-05-15
Publication date: 2018-12-06
Also published as: CN107068919A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a flexible panel, comprising: forming an electrorheological layer on a support base board when an electric field is applied; forming a flexible substrate on the electrorheological layer; forming other structures of the flexible panel on the flexible substrate; and changing the state of the electric field to change the electrorheological layer into a liquid state such that the flexible substrate separates from the support base board. By using the method for manufacturing a flexible panel according to the present invention, the flexible panel may be easily peeled from the support base board, thereby preventing potential damage to the flexible substrate or other substances from remaining on the flexible panel during the process of peeling off the flexible substrate.

Description

Method of manufacturing a flexible panel

Technical field

The present invention relates to a method of making a flexible panel.

Background technique

In recent years, various flexible panels that can be bent (for example, flexible display panels, flexible touch panels, etc.) have been developed. In manufacturing these flexible panels, in order to support and move the flexible panel, a flexible panel is typically fabricated on a rigid support substrate and the flexible panel is then peeled from the support substrate.

Currently, laser lift-off is commonly used to peel the flexible panel from the support substrate. However, during laser stripping, the energy of the laser may affect the devices in the flexible panel. In addition, other substances may remain on the flexible panel during the stripping process.

Summary of the invention

In order to address the deficiencies existing in the prior art, aspects of the present invention provide a method of making a flexible panel.

According to an aspect of the invention, a method of manufacturing a flexible panel includes: forming an electrorheological layer on a support substrate under application of an electric field; forming a flexible substrate on the electrorheological layer; forming on the flexible substrate Other structures of the flexible panel; and changing the state of the electric field to cause the electrorheological layer to become in a liquid state to separate the flexible substrate from the support substrate.

Optionally, changing the state of the electric field includes reducing the electric field strength such that the electric field strength is substantially below a threshold.

Optionally, the threshold value is a critical electric field value of the material of the electrorheological layer converted from a solid state to a liquid body.

Optionally, the electrorheological layer comprises: urea-coated Ba-Ti-O nanoparticles doped with antimony (Rb) elements.

Optionally, the method further includes forming an adhesive layer between the support substrate and the flexible substrate to fix the flexible substrate to the support substrate.

Optionally, the adhesive layer surrounds the electrorheological layer.

Optionally, the adhesive layer is formed on a peripheral portion of the flexible panel.

Optionally, the method further comprises: dividing the flexible panel along a cutting line to remove a portion in which the adhesive layer is formed.

Optionally, the electrorheological layer flows out through the cutting line such that the flexible substrate is separated from the support substrate.

Optionally, the flexible panel is cut using cutter wheel cutting or laser cutting.

In the method of manufacturing a flexible panel according to the present invention, an electrorheological layer is formed on a support substrate under application of an electric field; a flexible substrate is formed on the electrorheological layer; and the flexible panel is formed on the flexible substrate And the other structure; and changing the state of the electric field to change the electrorheological layer into a liquid state to separate the flexible substrate from the support substrate. With the method of manufacturing a flexible panel according to the present invention, the flexible panel can be easily peeled off from the support substrate, thereby avoiding damage to the flexible substrate or other substances remaining to the flexible panel during peeling of the flexible substrate.

DRAWINGS

The drawings are intended to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are intended to be a In the drawing:

1 is a flow chart of a method of manufacturing a flexible panel in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a method of manufacturing a flexible panel in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a method of manufacturing a flexible panel in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a method of manufacturing a flexible panel in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

detailed description

In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solutions of the present disclosure, the method for manufacturing a flexible panel provided by the present disclosure will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

1 is a flow chart of a method of manufacturing a flexible panel according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a method of manufacturing a flexible panel according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 and 2, a method of manufacturing a flexible panel according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the following steps:

In step 101, an electrorheological layer 110 is formed on the support substrate 100. The electrorheological layer is capable of undergoing a solid-liquid transition depending on the state of the electric field. For example, in the case where an electric field is applied, the electrorheological layer 110 may have a solid state when the electric field strength is above a certain threshold. In addition, when the intensity of the electric field decreases below the threshold, the electrorheological layer 110 can be converted into a liquid state. In other words, the electrorheological layer 110 has a critical value (for example, the above-described threshold value) which is a critical electric field value at which the material of the electrorheological layer changes from a solid state to a liquid body. For example, in one embodiment, the electrorheological layer 110 can comprise urea coated Ba-Ti-O nanoparticles doped with antimony (Rb) elements.

Since the electrorheological layer 110 has a different morphology depending on the change of the electric field, the step 101 can be performed with the application of an electric field. The description of the above electro-rheological layer 110 is merely an example, and the present invention is not limited thereto, and other electrorheological materials may be used in the present invention to form the electro-rheological layer 110.

Step 102, forming a flexible substrate 120 on the electro-rheological layer 110. In this step, when the flexible substrate 120 is formed, the electro-rheological layer 110 may have a solid state. Therefore, in the process of forming the flexible substrate 120, the electro-rheological layer 110 can maintain its morphology, so that the flexible substrate 120 can be supported and carried on the support substrate 100.

The flexible substrate 120 may be formed of, for example, polyimide (PI) to be used as a substrate of a flexible panel. However, the invention is not limited thereto, and the flexible substrate 120 may be made of other suitable substrate materials.

Step 103, forming other structures 200 of the flexible panel on the flexible substrate 120. After forming the flexible substrate 120, other structures 200 of the flexible panel can be formed on the flexible substrate 120 as needed. For example, when the flexible panel is an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display panel, a thin film transistor (TFT) driving circuit, a pixel electrode, an organic light emitting layer, a common electrode, and various functional layer structures may be formed on the flexible substrate 120. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and for example, when the flexible panel is a flexible touch panel, a structure of a detecting electrode, a driving electrode, and the like may be formed on the flexible substrate 120. Those skilled in the art can specifically implement other structures 200 for forming a flexible panel on the flexible substrate 120 according to actual needs under the teaching of the present invention, and thus will not be described herein.

In step 104, the state of the electric field is changed, and the electrorheological layer 110 is changed to a liquid state to separate the flexible substrate 120 from the support substrate 100. When the state of the electric field changes, the electrorheological layer 110 changes from a solid state to a liquid state, and can flow out between the flexible substrate 120 and the support substrate 100, thereby separating the flexible substrate 120 from the support substrate 100.

According to the present embodiment, in the method of manufacturing a flexible panel, an electrorheological layer is formed on a support substrate in the case where an electric field is applied; a flexible substrate is formed on the electrorheological layer; and the flexibility is formed on the flexible substrate Other structures of the panel; and changing the state of the electric field to cause the electrorheological layer to become in a liquid state to separate the flexible substrate from the support substrate. With the method of manufacturing a flexible panel according to the present invention, the flexible panel can be easily peeled off from the support substrate, thereby avoiding damage to the flexible substrate or other substances remaining to the flexible panel during peeling of the flexible substrate.

In the foregoing embodiment, when the electric field strength is higher than a certain threshold, the electrorheological layer 110 may have a solid state. In addition, when the intensity of the electric field decreases below the threshold, the electrorheological layer 110 can be converted into a liquid state. Therefore, in order to change the state of the electric field and change the electrorheological layer 110 to a liquid state, the electric field strength can be lowered so that the electric field strength is much lower than the critical value. Alternatively, in this embodiment, the applied electric field can also be revoked (i.e., the electric field strength is reduced to zero).

3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a method of manufacturing a flexible panel in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3, an adhesive layer 130 may also be formed between the support substrate 100 and the flexible substrate 120 to fix the flexible substrate 120 to the support substrate 100. The adhesive 130 may fix the flexible substrate 120 to the support substrate 100, and the adhesive layer 130 may be formed to surround the electro-rheological layer 110.

In one embodiment, the adhesive layer 130 may be formed prior to forming the electro-rheological layer 110 such that the electro-rheological layer 110 may be formed in a space surrounded by the adhesive layer 130 to prevent the electro-rheological layer 110 from flowing to other section. In one embodiment, the adhesive layer 130 can be formed from a sealant.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 3, an adhesive layer 130 is formed on a peripheral portion of the flexible panel. For example, the adhesive layer 130 is formed in an area other than the effective area of the flexible panel (for example, in the case of a flexible display panel, the effective area includes the display area of the flexible display panel). In this embodiment, after the flexible panel is manufactured, the flexible panel can be slit along the cutting line 140 to remove the portion in which the adhesive layer 130 is formed.

After the portion where the adhesive layer 130 is formed is removed, in the case where the electro-rheological layer 110 becomes a liquid state, the electro-rheological layer 110 flows out through the dicing line 140, so that the flexible substrate 120 is separated from the support substrate 100. In the present embodiment, the flexible panel may be diced along the cutting line 140 before or after the electro-rheological layer 110 becomes liquid.

In one embodiment, the flexible panel can be segmented using cutter wheel cutting or laser cutting. Those skilled in the art can implement the scheme of splitting the flexible panel under the enlightenment of the present invention, and thus will not be described herein.

4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a method of manufacturing a flexible panel in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4, a plurality of flexible panels are formed on the support substrate 100 at one time, and an electrorheological layer 110 is formed between each flexible panel and the support substrate 100, and each of the electrorheological layers 110 may be separated by an adhesive layer 130. open. In the embodiment of FIG. 4, when the flexible panels are cut along the cutting line 140, the respective flexible panels are separated from each other, thereby forming a plurality of flexible panels at a time, so that the production efficiency can be further improved.

The specific manner of forming a plurality of flexible panels at one time is substantially the same as the details described in the foregoing embodiments, and will not be described again herein.

It is to be understood that the above embodiments are merely exemplary embodiments employed to explain the principles of the invention, but the invention is not limited thereto. Various modifications and improvements can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. These modifications and improvements are also considered to be within the scope of the invention.

Claims

A method of making a flexible panel comprising:

Forming an electrorheological layer on the support substrate in the case of applying an electric field;

Forming a flexible substrate on the electrorheological layer;

Forming other structures of the flexible panel on the flexible substrate;

The state of the electric field is changed to change the electrorheological layer into a liquid state to separate the flexible substrate from the support substrate.
The method of claim 1 wherein changing the state of the electric field comprises reducing the electric field strength such that the electric field strength is substantially below a threshold.
The method of claim 2 wherein said threshold value is a critical electric field value at which said material of said electrorheological layer transitions from a solid state to a liquid state.
The method of claim 1 wherein said electrorheological layer comprises urea-coated Ba-Ti-O nanoparticles doped with antimony (Rb) elements.
The method of claim 1 further comprising:

An adhesive layer is formed between the support substrate and the flexible substrate to fix the flexible substrate to the support substrate.
The method of claim 5 wherein the adhesive layer surrounds the electrorheological layer.
The method of claim 5, wherein the adhesive layer is formed on a peripheral portion of the flexible panel.
The method of claim 7, further comprising: slitting the flexible panel along a cutting line to remove a portion in which the adhesive layer is formed.
The method of claim 8, wherein the electrorheological layer flows out through the cutting line such that the flexible substrate is separated from the support substrate.
The method of claim 8 wherein the flexible panel is segmented by cutter wheel cutting or laser cutting.