CN111201608A

CN111201608A - Flexible member and method for manufacturing flexible display panel

Info

Publication number: CN111201608A
Application number: CN201780095854.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 薛正寅; 李文辉; 陈小明; 王征文
Original assignee: Shenzhen Royole Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Shenzhen Royole Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2017-11-30
Filing date: 2017-11-30
Publication date: 2020-05-26
Also published as: WO2019104691A1

Abstract

A flexible part (100) comprises a reserved area (10) and a processing area (30) wound on the reserved area (10), wherein the processing area (30) is provided with a protective structure (50) with reflection performance, and the protective structure (50) is used for reflecting part of laser to avoid damaging the reserved area (10) during laser cutting when the processing area (30) is cut through the laser, so that the product yield is improved. A method of manufacturing a flexible display panel is also provided.

Description

Flexible member and method for manufacturing flexible display panel

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of display, in particular to a flexible component and a manufacturing method of a flexible display panel.

Background

In recent years, Flexible Display (Flexible Display) has received more and more attention due to its advantages of portability, strong shock resistance, light weight, and the like. During manufacturing, the flexible component needs to be cut by laser to form a flexible display panel with required size. Due to the development trend of frameless and narrow frames, the cutting processing area of the flexible part is smaller and smaller, and a small amount of laser beams used for processing are scattered, so that functional devices, films, circuits and the like around the cutting processing area are easily damaged, and the product yield is influenced.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a flexible member and a method for manufacturing a flexible display panel.

A flexible component comprises a reserved area and a processing area arranged around the reserved area, wherein the processing area is provided with a protective structure with reflection performance, and the protective structure is used for reflecting part of laser to avoid damaging the reserved area during laser cutting when the processing area is cut through the laser.

Furthermore, the flexible component further comprises an insulating layer, the insulating layer is arranged in the reserved area and the processing area, and the protection structure is arranged on the insulating layer.

Furthermore, the number of the insulating layers is at least two, the at least two insulating layers are arranged in a stacked mode, the at least two insulating layers are arranged in the reserved area and the processing area, the number of the protection structures is at least one, and each protection structure is arranged between the two insulating layers.

Further, the at least two insulation layers comprise a first insulation layer, a second insulation layer, a third insulation layer and a fourth insulation layer, the protection structure comprises a first protection structure and a second protection structure, the second insulation layer covers the first insulation layer, the first protection structure is arranged on the second insulation layer, the third insulation layer covers the first protection structure, the second protection structure is arranged on the third insulation layer, and the fourth insulation layer covers the second protection structure.

Further, the at least two insulation layers further include a fifth insulation layer covering the fourth insulation layer.

Further, the at least two insulating layers further include a sixth insulating layer, the protection structure further includes a third protection structure, the third protection structure is disposed on the fifth insulating layer, and the sixth insulating layer covers the third protection structure.

Further, the insulating layer is made of at least one material of silicon nitride, silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, and silicon oxynitride.

Further, the area of the protection structure distributed in the processing area is the same as the area of the processing area.

Furthermore, the processing area comprises a protection area and a protection area connected with the protection area, the protection area is connected with the reserved area, and the protection structure is arranged in the protection area.

Further, the protection zone is arranged around an edge profile of the reserved zone, the protection zone being in the surround of the protection zone.

Further, the protection zone includes first protection zone and second protection zone, protection architecture locates first protection zone reaches the second protection zone, the protection zone includes first protection zone and second protection zone, first protection zone with keep the regional connection setting, first protection zone is located first protection zone reaches between the second protection zone, the second protection zone is located first protection zone reaches between the second protection zone.

Further, the flexible member has a flat plate shape, the guard area is provided at a corner portion of the processing area, and the guard area divides the guard area into a plurality of discrete areas.

Further, the protection structure is made of at least one of Al, Mo, Ag and Ti.

Further, the reserved area comprises a display area, a terminal area and a gate driving circuit area.

A method of manufacturing a flexible display panel, comprising the steps of:

providing a flexible component, wherein the flexible component comprises a reserved area and a processing area wound on the reserved area, the processing area is provided with a protective structure with reflection performance, and the protective structure is used for reflecting part of laser to avoid damaging the reserved area during laser cutting when the processing area is cut by the laser; and

and carrying out laser cutting on the processing area to form the flexible display panel.

Furthermore, the processing area comprises a protection area and a protection area connected with the protection area, the protection area is connected with the reserved area, the protection structure is arranged in the protection area, the protection area is correspondingly arranged along the side profile of the reserved area, and in the step of performing laser cutting on the processing area, the laser beam moves along the protection area.

Further, the laser beam moves along the protective area, and if the laser beam deviates from the protective area, the laser cutting preset path is corrected.

Furthermore, the flexible component further comprises at least two insulating layers, the at least two insulating layers are arranged in the reserved area and the processing area, the number of the protection structures is at least one, and each protection structure is arranged between the two insulating layers.

According to the flexible part and the manufacturing method of the flexible display panel, the protection structure is made of metal with reflection performance, and is arranged in the processing area of the flexible part, so that damage of scattered light beams to functional devices, film layers and circuits around the processing area during cutting of the laser beams can be effectively avoided, and the yield of products is improved. In addition, each protection structure is clamped between the two insulating layers, so that the reflection effect is improved, and the protection effect on functional devices, film layers and circuits around the processing area is further improved. Furthermore, the processing area is provided with a protection area and a protection area for preventing the laser beam from deviating from the route to damage the functional devices of the reserved area and other structures.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments will be briefly described below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art to obtain other drawings based on these drawings without creative efforts.

FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a method for manufacturing a flexible display panel according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a region of a flexible component;

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the flexible component shown in FIG. 1 taken along line I-I;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a portion of the flexible component shown in FIG. 1 taken along line I-I;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a portion of a flexible component along line I-I in one embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of a region of a flexible component in one embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of a region of a flexible component in one embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a portion of the flexible component shown in FIG. 7 taken along line II-II;

FIG. 9 is a partially sectioned area schematic view of a flexible component in one embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of a flexible component region in one embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a schematic drawing in section of a portion of a flexible component in one embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a schematic drawing in section of a portion of a flexible component in one embodiment;

FIG. 13 is a schematic drawing in partial cross-section of a flexible component in one embodiment.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be obtained by a person skilled in the art without inventive effort based on the embodiments of the present invention, are within the scope of the present invention.

Referring to fig. 1, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing a flexible display panel, which includes the following steps:

s101, providing the flexible component 100.

Referring to fig. 2, the flexible component 100 includes a reserved area 10 and a processing area 30 surrounding the reserved area 10.

The flexible member 100 has a substantially flat plate shape. The reserved area 10 includes a display area 11, a terminal area 13, and a gate driving circuit area 15. The display area 11 is used for displaying images. The terminal area 13 is provided with terminals such as a data line terminal, a scan line terminal, a common electrode line terminal, and the like. The gate driving circuit region 15 is provided with a gate driving circuit. Of course, the reserved area 10 includes other necessary or unnecessary structures, for example, the reserved area 10 may further include reserved areas (not shown), which are disposed at the edge of the reserved area 10 and along the contour of the reserved area 10 to serve as a decorative border, and for brevity, the description thereof is omitted.

Referring to fig. 3, the processing region 30 is provided with a protection structure 50, and the protection structure 50 is made of a material having a reflective property, and is used for reflecting a part of the laser light when the processing region 30 is cut by the laser light so as to prevent the reserved region 10 from being damaged during the laser cutting. The protective structures 50 are disposed in all regions of the processing region 30, i.e., the area of the protective structures 50 distributed in the processing region 30 is equal to the area of the processing region 30.

Further, the flexible component 100 further includes an insulating layer, and the protection structure 50 is disposed on the insulating layer.

Further, the number of the insulating layers is at least two, the at least two insulating layers are arranged in a stacked mode, the number of the protection structures 50 is at least one, and each protection structure 50 is arranged between the two insulating layers.

Further, the flexible member 100 includes a first insulating layer 71 and a second insulating layer 73. The first insulating layer 71 and the second insulating layer 73 are provided in the reserved region 10 and the processing region 30. The protection structure 50 is disposed between the first insulating layer 71 and the second insulating layer 73. In this embodiment, the first insulating layer 71 is a buffer layer, and the second insulating layer 73 is a gate insulating layer. The first insulating layer 71 and the second insulating layer 73 are made of at least one material selected from silicon nitride (SiNx), silicon oxide (SiOx), aluminum oxide (AlOx), and silicon oxynitride (SiNO). The protection structure 50 is made of at least one material of Al, Mo, Ag and Ti. Referring to fig. 4, the thickness of the flexible component 100 in the reserved area 10 is the same as that of the processed area 30.

And S102, performing laser cutting on the processing area 30 to form the flexible display panel.

In the present embodiment, the machining region 30 is laser-cut using a hot-melt laser beam having a wavelength band of about 300 nm. The laser beam is cut along a predetermined path in the processing region 30, and the protection structure 50 can reflect a part of the laser beam, so that damage to functional devices, circuits and the like, such as a gate driving circuit, disposed in the reserved region 10 can be avoided.

In one embodiment, referring to fig. 5, the thickness of the flexible component 100 in the reserved area 10 is greater than the thickness of the processing area 30.

In an embodiment, referring to fig. 6, the processing area 30 includes a protection area 31 and a protection area 33 connected to the protection area 31. The protection region 31 is used for disposing the protection structure 50 (see fig. 3). The guard zone 33 is used to avoid the laser beam from deviating from the path to damage the reserved area 10 during laser cutting. The protection structure 50 is disposed in the protection region 31. In the embodiment shown in fig. 6, the guard zone 33 is not provided with the protective structure 50. The number of guard zones 33 is 3. Each protection zone 33 is disposed on a corresponding side of the reserved area 10, and is in a strip shape and correspondingly disposed along the profile of the side of the reserved area 10. The protective zone 31 is arranged around the protective zones 33, i.e. each protective zone 33 is in the surround of the protective zone 31. In the step of performing laser cutting on the machining area 30, the laser beam moves along the protective area 33, and if the laser beam deviates from the protective area 33, the laser cutting preset path is corrected, so that the machining precision is improved, and the product yield is further improved. Further, a control device that controls the laser beam monitors the cutting process, and if the laser beam deviates from the guard area 33, the control device corrects the laser cutting preset path and stores it. It will be appreciated that the number of zones 33 may be one, arranged in a U-shape along three sides of the retention zone 10.

In an embodiment, referring to fig. 7 and 8, the processing area 30 is disposed around the reserved area 10, and the processing area 30 includes a protection area 34 and a protection area 35 connected to the protection area 34. The protection region 34 is used for disposing the protection structure 50 (see fig. 3). The protection structure 50 is disposed in the protection region 34. The guard zone 35 is not provided with the protective structure 50. The protection region 34 includes a first protection region 341 and a second protection region 343, and the protection structures 50 are disposed in the first protection region 341 and the second protection region 343. The guard region 35 includes a first guard region 351 and a second guard region 353. The first protection region 341 is disposed adjacent to/connected to the reserved region 10. The first protection zone 351 is located between the first protection zone 341 and the second protection zone 343, and the second protection zone 343 is located between the first protection zone 351 and the second protection zone 353. The first protection zone 351, the second protection zone 353, the first protection zone 341 and the second protection zone 343 are all U-shaped. The thickness of the flexible component 100 in the retention area 10 is equal to the thickness of the processing area 30. The protective zone 35 is spaced apart from the protective zone 34, which can reduce the cost of the protective structure 50 while protecting the reserved area 10.

It is understood that, referring to fig. 9, in other embodiments, the thickness of the flexible component 100 in the reserved area 10 may be larger than that of the processing area 30.

In one embodiment, referring to fig. 10, the processing region 30 includes a protection region 38 and a protection region 39 connected to the protection region 38. The protection structure 50 is disposed in the protection region 38. The guard area 35 is not provided with the protective structure 50 (see fig. 3). The flexible component 100 is provided with a protruding metal trace in the protection area 39. The guard zone 39 comprises a first guard zone 391 and a second guard zone 393. The number of the first guard areas 391 is two and the number of the second guard areas 393 is one. Each first guard area 391 is located at a corner of the flexible member 100, i.e., at a corner of the processing area 30. The second guard region 393 is disposed adjacent to one gate driving circuit region 15. The first guard area 391 and the second guard area 393 divide the guard area 38 into a plurality of discrete regions.

In one embodiment, referring to fig. 11, the flexible component 100 further includes a third insulating layer 75 and a fourth insulating layer 77. The third insulating layer 75 and the fourth insulating layer 77 are disposed in the reserved area 10 (see fig. 2) and the processing area 30 (see fig. 2). The protection structure 50 includes a first protection structure 51 and a second protection structure 53. The second insulating layer 73 covers the first insulating layer 71, and the first protection structure 51 is disposed on the second insulating layer 73. The third insulating layer 75 covers the first protection structure 51, the second protection structure 53 is disposed on the third insulating layer 75, and the fourth insulating layer 77 covers the second protection structure 53. That is, the first insulating layer 71, the second insulating layer 73, the first protective structure 51, the third insulating layer 75, the second protective structure 53, and the fourth insulating layer 77 are sequentially stacked. In this embodiment, the first insulating layer 71 is a flexible substrate, the second insulating layer 73 is a buffer layer, the third insulating layer 75 is a gate insulating layer, and the fourth insulating layer 77 is a passivation layer. The first protection structure 51 and the second protection structure 53 are disposed in the processing region 30. The first insulating layer 71 is made of a flexible material, and may be made of at least one of plastic such as PI/PET/TAC/PEN/PDMS or polymer material. The second insulating layer 73, the third insulating layer 75, and the fourth insulating layer 77 are made of at least one of silicon nitride (SiNx), silicon oxide (SiOx), aluminum oxide (AlOx), and silicon oxynitride (SiNO). The first protection structure 51 and the second protection structure 53 are made of at least one material of Al, Mo, Ag, and Ti.

In an embodiment, referring to fig. 12, the flexible component 100 further includes a third insulating layer 75, a fourth insulating layer 77, and a fifth insulating layer 78. The third insulating layer 75, the fourth insulating layer 77 and the fifth insulating layer 78 are disposed in the reserved area 10 (see fig. 2) and the processing area 30 (see fig. 2). The protection structure 50 includes a first protection structure 51 and a second protection structure 53. The second insulating layer 73 covers the first insulating layer 71, the first protection structure 51 is disposed on the second insulating layer 73, the third insulating layer 75 covers the first protection structure 51, the second protection structure 53 is disposed on the third insulating layer 75, and the fourth insulating layer 77 covers the second protection structure 53. The fifth insulating layer 78 covers the fourth insulating layer 77. In this embodiment, the first insulating layer 71 is a flexible substrate, the second insulating layer 73 is a buffer layer, the third insulating layer 75 is a gate insulating layer, the fourth insulating layer 77 is a passivation layer, and the fifth insulating layer 78 is a planarization layer. The first protection structure 51 and the second protection structure 53 are disposed in the processing region 30. The first insulating layer 71 is made of a flexible material, which may be a plastic or polymer material such as PI/PET/TAC/PEN/PDMS. The second insulating layer 73, the third insulating layer 75, and the fourth insulating layer 77 are made of at least one of silicon nitride (SiNx), silicon oxide (SiOx), aluminum oxide (AlOx), and silicon oxynitride (SiNO). The fifth insulating layer 78 is made of one of organic resins. The first protection structure 51 and the second protection structure 53 are made of at least one material of Al, Mo, Ag, and Ti.

In an embodiment, referring to fig. 13, the flexible component 100 further includes a third insulating layer 75, a fourth insulating layer 77, a fifth insulating layer 78, and a sixth insulating layer 79. The third insulating layer 75, the fourth insulating layer 77, the fifth insulating layer 78 and the sixth insulating layer 79 are disposed in the reserved area 10 (see fig. 2) and the processing area 30 (see fig. 2). The protection structure 50 includes a first protection structure 51, a second protection structure 53, and a third protection structure 55. The second insulating layer 73 covers the first insulating layer 71, and the first protection structure 51 is disposed on the second insulating layer 73. The third insulating layer 75 covers the first protection structure 51, the second protection structure 53 is disposed on the third insulating layer 75, and the fourth insulating layer 77 covers the second protection structure 53. The fifth insulating layer 78 covers the fourth insulating layer 77. The third protection structure 55 is disposed on the fifth insulating layer 78. The sixth insulating layer 79 covers the third protective structure 55. In this embodiment, the first insulating layer 71 is a flexible substrate, the second insulating layer 73 is a buffer layer, the third insulating layer 75 is a gate insulating layer, the fourth insulating layer 77 is a passivation layer, the fifth insulating layer 78 is a planarization layer, and the sixth insulating layer 79 is a photoresist spacer. The first protection structure 51 and the second protection structure 53 are disposed in the processing region 30. The first insulating layer 71 is made of a flexible material, which may be a plastic or polymer material such as PI/PET/TAC/PEN/PDMS. The second insulating layer 73, the third insulating layer 75, and the fourth insulating layer 77 are made of at least one of silicon nitride (SiNx), silicon oxide (SiOx), aluminum oxide (AlOx), and silicon oxynitride (SiNO). The fifth insulating layer 78 is made of one of organic resins. The first protection structure 51, the second protection structure 53 and the third protection structure 55 are made of at least one material of Al, Mo, Ag and Ti.

In an embodiment, the protection structure 50 may be disposed as required, for example, the protection structure 50 is disposed in a first region (not shown) of the first insulating layer 71, and the protection structure 50 is not disposed in a second region of the first insulating layer 71.

It is understood that the laser beam may be a cold laser.

It will be appreciated that the laser beam may be in other wavelength bands and the protective structure may be in the form of at least one metal having a relatively high reflectivity in the laser wavelength band.

It will be understood that each protection structure is not limited to being disposed between two insulating layers, but may be disposed on the topmost insulating layer.

According to the manufacturing method of the flexible display panel, the protection structure is made of metal with reflection performance, and is arranged in the processing area of the flexible part, so that the damage to functional devices, films and circuits around the processing area caused by light beam divergence or path deviation during laser beam cutting can be effectively avoided, and the product yield is improved. In addition, each protection structure is clamped between the two insulating layers, so that the reflection effect is improved, and the protection effect on functional devices, film layers and circuits around the processing area is further improved. Furthermore, the processing area is provided with a protection area and a protection area for preventing the laser beam from deviating the route to damage the reserved area and functional devices of other structures.

It should be understood that the above-described embodiments are merely exemplary of the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention, but rather as embodying all or part of the above-described embodiments and equivalents thereof as may be made by those skilled in the art, and still fall within the scope of the invention as claimed.

Claims

A flexible component is characterized by comprising a reserved area and a processing area arranged around the reserved area, wherein the processing area is provided with a protective structure with reflection performance, and the protective structure is used for reflecting part of laser to avoid damaging the reserved area during laser cutting when the processing area is cut through the laser.
The flexible component of claim 1, further comprising an insulating layer disposed in the retention region and the processing region, wherein the protective structure is disposed on the insulating layer.
The flexible component of claim 2, wherein the number of insulating layers is at least two, the at least two insulating layers are in a stacked arrangement, the number of protective structures is at least one, and each protective structure is disposed between two insulating layers.
The flexible component of claim 3, wherein the at least two insulating layers comprise a first insulating layer, a second insulating layer, a third insulating layer, and a fourth insulating layer, and the protection structure comprises a first protection structure and a second protection structure, the second insulating layer covers the first insulating layer, the first protection structure is disposed on the second insulating layer, the third insulating layer covers the first protection structure, the second protection structure is disposed on the third insulating layer, and the fourth insulating layer covers the second protection structure.
The flexible component of claim 4, wherein the at least two insulating layers further comprises a fifth insulating layer, the fifth insulating layer covering the fourth insulating layer.
The flexible component of claim 5, wherein the at least two insulating layers further comprise a sixth insulating layer, the protective structure further comprising a third protective structure disposed on the fifth insulating layer, the sixth insulating layer covering the third protective structure.
The flexible component of claim 2, wherein the insulating layer is made of at least one of silicon nitride, silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, and silicon oxynitride.
The flexible component of claim 1, wherein the protective structure is distributed over the same area of the processing region as the processing region.
The flexible component of claim 1, wherein the processing region comprises a protective region and a protective region coupled to the protective region, the protective region coupled to the retention region, and the protective structure disposed in the protective region.
The flexible component of claim 9, wherein the protected zone is disposed around an edge profile of the reserved zone, the protected zone being in a surround of the protected zone.
The flexible component of claim 9, wherein the protection zones comprise a first protection zone and a second protection zone, the protection structure is disposed in the first protection zone and the second protection zone, the protection zones comprise a first protection zone and a second protection zone, the first protection zone is disposed in connection with the retention zone, the first protection zone is disposed between the first protection zone and the second protection zone, and the second protection zone is disposed between the first protection zone and the second protection zone.
The flexible component of claim 9, wherein the flexible component is in the form of a flat plate, the guard region is provided at a corner of the processing region, and the guard region divides the guard region into a plurality of discrete regions.
The flexible component of claim 1, wherein the protective structure is made of at least one of Al, Mo, Ag, Ti.
The flexible component of claim 1, wherein the reserved area comprises a display area, a terminal area, and a gate drive circuit area.
A method of manufacturing a flexible display panel, comprising the steps of:

providing a flexible component, wherein the flexible component comprises a reserved area and a processing area wound on the reserved area, the processing area is provided with a protective structure with reflection performance, and the protective structure is used for reflecting part of laser to avoid damaging the reserved area during laser cutting when the processing area is cut by the laser; and

and carrying out laser cutting on the processing area to form the flexible display panel.
The method of claim 15, wherein the machining region includes a guard region and a guard region coupled to the guard region, the guard region is coupled to the retention region, the guard structure is disposed in the guard region, the guard region is correspondingly disposed along a side profile of the retention region, and the laser beam moves along the guard region during the step of laser cutting the machining region.
The method of manufacturing of claim 16, wherein the laser beam moves along the guard area and corrects the laser cut predetermined path if the laser beam deviates from the guard area.