CN113299717A - Display panel, preparation method and display device - Google Patents

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a display panel, a preparation method and a display device, relates to the technical field of display, and aims to solve the problems of luminous crosstalk and color cast caused by transverse transmission of current along a functional material layer in the display panel. The display panel comprises a substrate, a first electrode layer, a pixel defining layer, a first functional material layer and a light-emitting layer. The first electrode layer is arranged on the substrate and comprises a plurality of first electrodes; the pixel defining layer is arranged on one side of the first electrode layer, which is far away from the substrate, and is provided with a plurality of openings, each opening exposes at least one part of the first electrode, and the side walls of the openings are provided with concave parts; the first functional material layer is arranged on one side of the pixel defining layer, which is far away from the substrate base plate, and the part of the first functional material layer, which is positioned in the opening, is discontinuous at the concave part; the light emitting layer is arranged on one side of the first functional material layer far away from the substrate base plate.

Description

Display panel, preparation method and display device

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of display, in particular to a display panel, a preparation method and a display device.

Background

The display panel (also referred to as a display screen) may be of various types, such as an Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) display panel, a Quantum Dot Light-Emitting Diode (QLED) display panel, and the like.

For example, a light emitting device of an OLED display panel is a structure in which multiple thin films are stacked, and functional material layers in the light emitting device, such as one or more layers of a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, a hole blocking layer, an electron injection layer, an electron transport layer, an electron blocking layer, and the like, are formed as a whole layer by a vacuum evaporation technique, and when a current is applied, the current is laterally transported along the layers, so that a light emission driving current of one sub-pixel is transported to an adjacent sub-pixel, and thus, light emission crosstalk and color cast problems may occur.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention provides a display panel, a preparation method and a display device, which are used for solving the problems of luminous crosstalk and color cast caused by the fact that current in the display panel is transmitted along the transverse direction of a functional material layer.

In order to achieve the above purpose, the embodiment of the invention adopts the following technical scheme:

in a first aspect, a display panel is provided, which includes a substrate, a first electrode layer, a pixel defining layer, a first functional material layer, and a light emitting layer. The first electrode layer is arranged on the substrate and comprises a plurality of first electrodes. The pixel defining layer is arranged on one side of an electrode layer, which is far away from the substrate base plate, the pixel defining layer is provided with a plurality of openings, each opening exposes at least one part of the first electrode, the side wall of each opening is provided with a concave part, the first functional material layer is arranged on one side of the pixel defining layer, which is far away from the substrate base plate, and the part of the first functional material layer, which is positioned in the opening, is discontinuous at the concave part. The light emitting layer is arranged on one side of the first functional material layer far away from the substrate base plate.

In some embodiments, the recess is disposed at a bottom of the sidewall of the opening.

In some embodiments, the recess extends along a sidewall edge of the opening. An included angle between a connecting line of two end points in the cross section of the inner wall of the recess and the bottom surface of the pixel defining layer is larger than 90 degrees and smaller than or equal to 160 degrees. Wherein the cross section is perpendicular to the extension direction of the recess.

In some embodiments, the inner wall of the recess is planar or concavely curved.

In some embodiments, the height of the depression is greater than or equal to 0.2 μm and less than or equal to 1 μm.

In some embodiments, one opening corresponds to a plurality of recesses distributed at intervals, or one opening corresponds to one recess, the recess is annular, and the recess surrounds an island portion in the first functional material layer, and the island portion is in contact with the first electrode exposed in the opening.

In some embodiments, a plurality of spaced apart recesses are provided on at least opposite sides of the sidewall of the opening.

In some embodiments, the light emitting layer includes a plurality of light emitting patterns, at least a portion of each light emitting pattern being located in one of the openings. At least two of the plurality of openings are arranged in a row. In this row, the light emission colors of the light emission patterns located at each adjacent two openings are different. And one opening corresponds a plurality of depressed parts that interval distribution, and a plurality of depressed parts set up on the relative both sides of open-ended lateral wall at least, and the relative both sides of open-ended lateral wall are the both sides along one row's extending direction in the open-ended lateral wall.

In some embodiments, the display panel further comprises a second functional material layer. The second functional material layer is arranged on one side of the light-emitting layer far away from the substrate, and the part of the second functional material layer in the opening is discontinuous at the concave part.

In some embodiments, the display panel further comprises a second electrode layer. The second electrode layer is arranged on one side, far away from the substrate base plate, of the second functional material layer, and the second electrode layer is an integrated film layer.

In some embodiments, the second electrode layer covers a side surface of a portion of the second functional material layer located on the sidewall of the opening.

In a second aspect, a display device is further provided, and the display device includes the display panel provided in any of the above embodiments.

In a third aspect, a method for manufacturing a display panel is provided, including the following steps:

forming a first electrode layer on a substrate, the first electrode layer including a plurality of first electrodes;

forming a pixel defining layer on the substrate, wherein the pixel defining layer is arranged on one side of the first electrode layer, which is far away from the substrate, the pixel defining layer is provided with a plurality of openings, each opening exposes at least one part of the first electrode, and the side wall of each opening is provided with a concave part;

forming a first functional material layer on the substrate, wherein the first functional material layer is arranged on one side of the pixel defining layer away from the substrate, and the part of the first functional material layer in the opening is discontinuous at the concave part;

and forming a light emitting layer on the substrate, wherein the light emitting layer is arranged on one side of the first functional material layer, which is far away from the substrate.

In some embodiments, forming the pixel defining layer on the base substrate comprises:

forming an initial pixel defining layer on the substrate, the initial pixel defining layer having a plurality of first openings thereon, each first opening exposing at least a portion of the first electrode;

forming a mask layer on the substrate with the initial pixel defining layer, wherein the mask layer is provided with a plurality of second openings, each second opening corresponds to one first opening, and the bottom of the side wall of each first opening is exposed;

and etching the exposed parts of the plurality of second openings in the initial pixel defining layer to form concave parts so as to obtain the pixel defining layer.

In the display panel provided by the embodiment of the invention, the pixel defining layer is provided with a plurality of openings, and each opening can expose at least one part of the first electrode, so that one opening can correspond to one sub-pixel. In one sub-pixel, a recess may be disposed on a sidewall of the pixel defining layer opening, and the first functional material layer disposed in the opening may be discontinuous at the recess. Thus, when the sub-pixels are energized, current cannot be transmitted through the first functional layer at the first functional layer discontinuity, and current cannot be transmitted laterally from one sub-pixel to an adjacent sub-pixel through the first functional material layer. Therefore, the problems of luminous crosstalk and color cast caused by the transverse transmission of current along the functional material layer in the display panel can be solved.

It can be understood that the display device according to the second aspect includes the display panel, and the method for manufacturing the display panel according to the third aspect is used for manufacturing the display panel, so that the beneficial effects achieved by the method can refer to the beneficial effects of the display panel, and are not described herein again.

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 description of the embodiments or the prior art 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 that other drawings can be obtained according to these drawings without creative efforts.

Fig. 1 is a top view of a display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2A is a partial top view of a display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA' of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2C is a cross-sectional view of another display panel along line AA' according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2D is a partial top view of another display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating an opening of a pixel definition layer of a display panel according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating an opening of a pixel definition layer of a display panel according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the inner wall of the recess along the line SS' in FIG. 3A in the display panel according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an opening of a pixel definition layer of a display panel according to an embodiment of the invention;

fig. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of a display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a flowchart of a method for manufacturing a display panel according to an embodiment of the invention;

fig. 8A to 8F are process flow diagrams of a method for manufacturing a display panel according to an embodiment of the invention;

fig. 9 is a flowchart of a part of the steps in the method for manufacturing a display panel according to the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 10A to 10D are partial process flow diagrams of a method for manufacturing a display panel according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of the degree of lateral leakage at different angles.

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 derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

In the description of the embodiments of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "upper", "lower", "bottom", "inner", "outer", and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on those shown in the drawings, and are only for convenience in describing the present invention and simplifying the description, but do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed in a specific orientation, and be operated, and thus, should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

Unless the context requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the term "comprise" and its other forms, such as the third person's singular form "comprising" and the present participle form "comprising" are to be interpreted in an open, inclusive sense, i.e. as "including, but not limited to". In the description of the specification, the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "example", "specific example" or "some examples" and the like are intended to indicate that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic associated with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present disclosure. The schematic representations of the above terms are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be included in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

In the following, the terms "first", "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of the embodiments of the present disclosure, "a plurality" means two or more unless otherwise specified.

In describing some embodiments, expressions of "coupled" and "connected," along with their derivatives, may be used. For example, the term "connected" may be used in describing some embodiments to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact with each other. As another example, some embodiments may be described using the term "coupled" to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact. However, the terms "coupled" or "communicatively coupled" may also mean that two or more elements are not in direct contact with each other, but yet still co-operate or interact with each other. The embodiments disclosed herein are not necessarily limited to the contents herein.

"at least one of A, B and C" has the same meaning as "A, B or at least one of C," each including the following combination of A, B and C: a alone, B alone, C alone, a and B in combination, a and C in combination, B and C in combination, and A, B and C in combination.

"A and/or B" includes the following three combinations: a alone, B alone, and a combination of A and B.

"plurality" means at least two.

The use of "adapted to" or "configured to" herein is meant to be an open and inclusive language that does not exclude devices adapted to or configured to perform additional tasks or steps.

Additionally, the use of "based on" means open and inclusive, as a process, step, calculation, or other action that is "based on" one or more stated conditions or values may in practice be based on additional conditions or values beyond those stated.

As used herein, "about," "approximately," or "approximately" includes the stated values as well as average values that are within an acceptable range of deviation for the particular value, as determined by one of ordinary skill in the art in view of the measurement in question and the error associated with measurement of the particular quantity (i.e., the limitations of the measurement system).

Example embodiments are described herein with reference to cross-sectional and/or plan views as idealized example figures. In the drawings, the thickness of layers and regions are exaggerated for clarity. Variations from the shapes of the illustrations as a result, for example, of manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances, are to be expected. Thus, the exemplary embodiments should not be construed as limited to the shapes of regions illustrated herein but are to include deviations in shapes that result, for example, from manufacturing. For example, an etched region shown as a rectangle will typically have curved features. Thus, the regions illustrated in the figures are schematic in nature and their shapes are not intended to illustrate the actual shape of a region of a device and are not intended to limit the scope of the exemplary embodiments.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a display device. The display device may be used to implement a display image (i.e., picture) function. The display device may comprise a display or a product comprising a display. The Display may be a Flat Panel Display (FPD) or a microdisplay, among others. The display may be a transparent display or an opaque display, depending on whether the user can see the scene division at the back of the display. The display may be a flexible display or a normal display (which may be referred to as a rigid display) depending on whether the display can be bent or rolled. For example, a product containing a display may include: computer displays, televisions, billboards, laser printers with display capability, telephones, cell phones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), laptop computers, Digital cameras, camcorders, viewfinders, vehicles, large area walls, monitors, theater screens or stadium signs, and the like.

The display device may include a display panel. The display panel may be an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) display panel, a QLED (Quantum Dot Light Emitting Diode) display panel, or the like.

In addition, the display device may further include other components, for example, a Circuit for supplying an electric signal to the display panel to drive the display panel to emit light, which may be referred to as a control Circuit, which may include a Circuit board and/or an IC (integrated Circuit) electrically connected to the display panel; and a power supply system for supplying power to the display panel.

Fig. 1 is a top view of a display panel provided by some embodiments of the present invention. Referring to fig. 1, the display panel 100 includes a plurality of subpixels P. Each of the sub-pixels P includes a plurality of components coupled to each other, and exemplarily, one sub-pixel may include one light emitting device E and a pixel driving circuit M controlling the light emitting device E to emit light, so that each of the sub-pixels P may emit light.

The plurality of sub-pixels P in the display panel 100 may include a plurality of first sub-pixels P1, a plurality of second sub-pixels P2, and a plurality of third sub-pixels P3. The first sub-pixel P1, the second sub-pixel P2, and the third sub-pixel P3 may emit light of different colors. For example, the color of light emitted by three sub-pixels in one display panel may be the three primary colors of light: red (R), green (G), and blue (B), and accordingly, the first sub-pixel P1 may emit red light, the second sub-pixel P2 may emit green light, and the third sub-pixel P3 may emit blue light. Here, for convenience of description, sub-pixels emitting light of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) colors in the display panel 100 are referred to as an R sub-pixel, a G sub-pixel, and a B sub-pixel, respectively, for example, the first sub-pixel P1 may be the R sub-pixel, the second sub-pixel P2 may be the G sub-pixel, and the third sub-pixel P3 may be the B sub-pixel.

The light emitting device E may include two electrodes, for example, an anode and a cathode, and a light emitting layer disposed between the two electrodes.

Among them, the light emitting layers may emit light, and different light emitting layers may emit light of different colors, so that the first, second, and third sub-pixels P1, P2, and P2 may emit light of different colors, respectively. For example, in the R sub-pixel, the light emitting layer of the light emitting device may emit red light; in the G sub-pixel, a light emitting layer of the light emitting device may emit green light; in the B sub-pixel, a light emitting layer of the light emitting device may emit blue light.

Fig. 2A is a partial top view of a display panel according to some embodiments of the present invention, and fig. 2B is a cross-sectional view of the display panel in fig. 2A along a line AA'. Referring to fig. 2A and 2B, the display panel 100 may include a substrate 110, a first electrode layer 120, a pixel defining layer 130, a first functional material layer 140, and a light emitting layer 150. The display panel 100 may further include a second functional material layer 160 and/or a second electrode layer 170. For convenience of description, fig. 2A only shows the structure and the positional relationship of the first electrode layer 120 and the recess 40, and some other structures of the display panel are omitted.

Next, the above layers of the display panel 100 will be separately described.

The substrate base 110 may be rigid or flexible. When the substrate base 110 is a rigid substrate base, a material forming the rigid substrate base may be glass, and when the substrate base is a flexible substrate base, a material forming the flexible substrate base may be PI (polyimide), PET (polyethylene terephthalate), ultra-thin glass, or the like.

The substrate 110 provides a basis for other structures in the display panel 100, and structures in the display panel, such as the first electrode layer 120, the pixel defining layer 130, the first functional material layer 140, the light emitting layer 150, the second functional material layer 160, and the second electrode layer 170, can be formed on the substrate 110. Among them, a plurality of layers among the first electrode layer 120, the first functional material layer 140, the light emitting layer 150, the second functional material layer 160, and the second electrode layer 170 may form the light emitting device E, that is, a plurality of light emitting devices E may be disposed on the substrate base 110. Illustratively, the base substrate 110 is provided thereon with a light emitting device E1, a light emitting device E2, and a light emitting device E3. Accordingly, in the plurality of light emitting devices E, the respective structures of the respective light emitting devices E may be disposed in the same layer. Illustratively, one electrode 120a of the light emitting device E1, the corresponding electrode 120b of the light emitting device E2, and the corresponding electrode 120c of the light emitting device E3 may be disposed in the same layer, for example, all disposed on the first electrode layer 120. Other structures of the light emitting device E can also be arranged in the same layer according to the above mode, and are not described herein again.

The first electrode layer 120 is disposed on the substrate base plate 110. The material of the first electrode layer 120 may include metal and alloy, such as Al, Mg, Ag, etc., and may further include metal oxide, such as ITO (indium tin oxide), IZO (indium zinc oxide), etc.

The first electrode layer 120 may include a plurality of first electrodes, each of which may correspond to one light emitting device as one electrode of the light emitting device, for example, the first electrode may be an anode of the light emitting device. Illustratively, the first electrode 120a may be one electrode of the light emitting device E1, for example, the first electrode 120a may be an anode of the light emitting device E1; the first electrode 120b may be one electrode of the light emitting device E2, for example, the first electrode 120b may be an anode of the light emitting device E2; the first electrode 120c may be one electrode of the light emitting device E3, for example, the first electrode 120c may be an anode of the light emitting device E3.

The pixel defining layer 130 is disposed on the substrate, and further, the pixel defining layer 130 may be disposed on a side of the first electrode layer 120 away from the substrate 110. The pixel defining layer 130 is configured to define the position of the light emitting device E in each sub-pixel P in the display panel 100, and further, may define the shape and size of a light emitting region of each light emitting device E.

The pixel defining layer 130 may have a plurality of openings H, and illustratively, the pixel defining layer 130 includes an opening H1, an opening H2, and an opening H3. The opening H of the pixel defining layer 130 refers to a void (or a through hole) generated in the pixel defining layer 130 after a portion of the material of the pixel defining layer 130 is removed. The shape and size of each opening H of the pixel defining layer 130 can be configured according to actual needs. For example, when the shape and size of each opening H of the pixel defining layer 130 are the same, the pixel defining layer 130 may form a uniform mesh structure; further illustratively, the pixel defining layer 130 includes at least two openings H that are different in size and/or shape.

Among the plurality of openings H of the pixel defining layer 130, each opening H may expose at least a portion of the first electrode. Illustratively, the opening H1 may correspond to the light emitting device E1, and the opening H1 may expose a portion of the first electrode 120a of the light emitting device E1, so that other structures of the light emitting device E1 may be located in the opening. Exemplarily, the light emitting device E1 may include: a first electrode 120 a; the portion of the first functional material layer 140 located in the opening H1 includes, for example, a first functional material layer portion 141a, a first functional material layer portion 142 a; a portion 150a of the light-emitting layer 150 located in the opening H1, and a portion 170a of the second electrode layer 170 located in the opening H1.

Further, fig. 3A shows the structure of one opening H of the pixel defining layer 130. Referring to fig. 3A, since the pixel defining layer 130 has a certain thickness d1, one opening H of the pixel defining layer 130 may also include upper and lower openings 10 and 20 distributed in a thickness direction (e.g., y direction) thereof, and a sidewall 30 between the upper and lower openings 10 and 20. The sidewall 30 of the opening H may include at least one sub-sidewall, and the opening H may have 4 sub-sidewalls, i.e., a sub-sidewall 30a, a sub-sidewall 30b, a sub-sidewall 30c, and a sub-sidewall 30 d.

A recess 40 is provided on the sidewall 30 of the opening H of the pixel defining layer 130. The recess 40 may be indented in a direction away from the opening H compared to other portions of the sidewall 30, and illustratively, the recess 40 may be indented in a direction parallel to the x-direction and away from the opening H compared to other portions of the sidewall 30. For example, fig. 2A shows an orthographic projection of an upper edge 42 of recess 40 on the substrate base and an orthographic projection of a lower edge 43 of recess 40 on the substrate base, wherein, referring to fig. 2B, upper edge 42 of recess 40 may be an edge of recess 40 away from substrate base 110 and lower edge 43 of recess 40 may be an edge of recess 40 close to substrate base 110. With continued reference to fig. 2A, in the recess 40, its lower edge 43 is indented in a direction parallel to the x-direction and away from the opening compared to the upper edge 42.

In some embodiments, referring to fig. 3B, the recess 40 may be disposed in the middle of the sidewall 30 of the opening H, and exemplarily, the middle of the sub-sidewall 30a is disposed with the recess 40a, and the middle of the sub-sidewall 30d is disposed with the recess 40B. In other embodiments, referring to fig. 3A, the recess 40 may be disposed at the bottom of the sidewall 30 of the opening H. Illustratively, the bottom of the sub-sidewall 30a is provided with a recess 40a, and the bottom of the sub-sidewall 30d is provided with a recess 40 b. Since the recess 40 is provided at the bottom of the sidewall 30 of the opening H, the fabrication of the recess 40 is easily achieved in terms of process, for example, the fabrication of the recess 40 may be achieved using an over-etching process.

The present invention is not limited to the number of the recessed portions 40 provided on one sub-sidewall of the sidewall 30, and one or more recessed portions 40 may be provided on one sub-sidewall, for example, referring to fig. 3A, one opening 40 is provided on one sub-sidewall 30 a.

Referring to fig. 2B, a first functional material layer 140 and a light emitting layer 150 may be disposed on the substrate base 110. The first functional material layer 140 may be disposed on a side of the pixel defining layer 130 away from the substrate 110. Also, the light emitting layer 150 may be disposed on a side of the first functional material layer 140 away from the substrate base plate 110, that is, in a thickness direction (e.g., y direction) of the display panel 100, the first functional material layer 140 may be located between the light emitting layer 150 and the substrate base plate 110.

The first functional material layer 140 may have a single-layer structure or a multi-layer structure. The first functional material layer 140 may include one or more of a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, and an electron blocking layer, and the number of layers is not limited as long as hole injection and transport can be achieved. The first functional material layer may further include one or more of an electron injection layer, an electron transport layer, and a hole blocking layer, and the number of layers is not limited as long as the injection and transport of electrons can be achieved.

In some embodiments, the first functional material layer 140 may include a functional material layer 141 and a functional material layer 142. Here, the functional material layer 141 may be a hole injection layer, and the functional material layer 142 may be a hole transport layer, for example. Also illustratively, the functional material layer 141 may be an electron injection layer, and the functional material layer 142 may be an electron transport layer.

Wherein, the hole injection layer and the hole transport layer are used for injecting and transporting holes respectively, the hole injection layer can be made of p-type doped material, for example, 2,3,5, 6-tetrafluoro-7, 7',8,8' -tetracyanoquinodimethane (F4-TCNQ) is doped into the hole transport material to form the hole injection layer, the hole transport layer can be made of material with high hole mobility, for example, low molecular material of arylamine and dendrimer family, such as N ' -di (1-naphthyl) -1,1' -biphenyl-4, 4' -diamine (NPB), 1' -biphenyl-4, 4' -diamine (TPD), etc.; an electron injection layer and an electron transport layer for injecting and transporting electrons, respectively, wherein the material of the electron transport layer is generally an aromatic compound having a large conjugated plane, for example, an oxazole derivative, an oxadiazole derivative, a triazole derivative, or the like; the electron injection layer can be made of metal or inorganic material with better injection performance, such as Yb, Li, LiF and the like; the electron blocking layer and the hole blocking layer can be used for blocking the transmission of electrons and holes towards a specific direction respectively; the electron blocking material is similar to the hole transporting material but has a deeper HOMO level and LUMO level, and the hole blocking material is similar to the electron transporting material but has a shallower HOMO level and LUMO level.

The light-emitting layer 150 is a film layer that actually emits light, the light-emitting material for manufacturing the light-emitting layer 150 can be excited under the energy generated by the recombination of holes and electrons to emit light by radiation, and the light of different colors corresponds to different light-emitting materials, for example, the material emitting blue light can be 9- (1-naphthyl) -10- (2-naphthyl) anthracene and its derivatives, and can be doped with blue fluorescent materials. The material emitting red and green light can be selected from double-host materials by co-evaporation or pre-mixing evaporation, namely, the material comprises two materials with hole transmission and electron transmission, wherein the hole type material is carbazole and derivatives thereof, and the electron type material is triazine derivatives.

In some embodiments, the light emitting layer 150 includes a plurality of light emitting patterns, for example, a light emitting pattern 150a, a light emitting pattern 150b, and a light emitting pattern 150 c. One light emitting pattern may correspond to one light emitting device E, and at least a portion of each light emitting pattern is located in one opening H. For example, the light emitting pattern 150a corresponds to the light emitting device E1, and is located in the opening H1; the light emitting pattern 150b corresponds to the light emitting device E2, and is positioned in the opening H2; the light emitting pattern 150c corresponds to the light emitting device E3, and is positioned in the opening H3. Different light emitting patterns located in different openings H may emit different colors of light. For example, the light emitting pattern 150a positioned in the opening H1 may emit red light, the light emitting pattern 150b positioned in the opening H2 may emit green light, and the light emitting pattern 150c positioned in the opening H3 may emit blue light.

In the display panel provided in the embodiment of the invention, since the recess 40 is disposed in the opening H of the pixel defining layer 130, a portion of the first functional material layer 140 located in the opening H of the pixel defining layer 130 is discontinuous at the recess 40. Where the first functional material layer 140 is discontinuous, current cannot flow from one light emitting device E to another light emitting device E through the first functional material layer 140, and the problems of crosstalk and color cast due to the lateral flow of current between different light emitting devices through the first functional material layer 140 can be solved.

In some embodiments, referring to fig. 3A, the recess 40a extends along the rim 31 of the sub-sidewall 30a in the opening H. Fig. 4 shows a cross-section of the recess in fig. 3A along section line SS', wherein the cross-section S is perpendicular to the extension direction of the recess 40a (e.g. parallel to the z-direction in fig. 3A). Referring to fig. 3A and 4, a line connecting two end points A, B in the cross section S and the bottom surface 131 of the pixel defining layer 130 has an included angle α, and the included angle α is greater than 90 ° and less than or equal to 160 °. Since the included angle α is greater than 90 ° and less than or equal to 160 °, the shape of the recess 40a may make the first functional material layer 140 more likely to be discontinuous at the recess 40a, thereby achieving the object of the present invention. Also, referring to fig. 11, the greater the angle α, the less the degree of lateral leakage, illustratively, when the angle α is 135 °, the less the degree of lateral leakage compared to angles α of 0 ° and 90 °. Since the greater the included angle α, the greater the degree of recession of the recess 40 in the direction away from the opening, the easier it is to break the first functional material layer 140, and therefore, the degree of lateral leakage can be improved.

In some embodiments, referring to FIG. 3A, the height d2 of the recess 40 is greater than or equal to 0.2 μm and less than or equal to 1 μm. Since the recess 40 has a certain height, for example, d2 is greater than the thickness of the first functional material layer 140, it may be achieved that the first functional material layer 140 is discontinuous at the recess 40.

In some embodiments, referring to fig. 3A, the inner wall 41 of the recess 40 may be a concave arc. In other embodiments, referring to fig. 5, the inner wall 41 of the recess 40 may also be planar.

In some embodiments, one opening H may correspond to a plurality of recesses 40 distributed at intervals. The recess 40 may be provided on one sub-sidewall of the opening H of the pixel defining layer 130, and the recess 40 may also be provided on a plurality (e.g., two; as another example, each) sub-sidewall of the opening H of the pixel defining layer 130.

In some possible implementations, referring to fig. 3A, a plurality of recesses 40 may be provided at least on opposite sides of the sidewall of the opening H. For example, the sub-sidewall 30a and the sub-sidewall 30d are two sub-sidewalls located on opposite sides of the sidewall of the opening H, and the sub-sidewall 30a is provided with the recess 40a and the sub-sidewall 30d is also provided with the recess 40 b.

Further, referring to fig. 6, of the plurality of openings H of the pixel defining layer 130, at least two openings H may be arranged in a row. Illustratively, opening H1, opening H2, and opening H3 may be aligned in a row parallel to the x-direction. Also, in the row of openings H, the light emission color of the light emission pattern located at each adjacent two openings H is different. For example, the light emitting pattern 150a positioned in the opening H1 may emit red light, the light emitting pattern 150b positioned in the opening H2 may emit green light, and the light emitting pattern 150c positioned in the opening H3 may emit blue light. In this case, for the side wall of each opening H, the recessed portions 40 may be provided on both sides of the side wall in the extending direction of the row of openings (e.g., parallel to the x direction). Illustratively, taking opening H2 as an example, a recess 40a may be provided on a sub-sidewall 30a of opening H2 near opening H1, and a recess 40b may be provided on a sub-sidewall 30d of opening H2 near opening H3. The first functional material layer 140 may be discontinuous at the recess 40a, and the recess 40b, so that current cannot flow from the light emitting device E2 to the light emitting device E1 through the first functional material layer 140 at the recess 40a, or from the light emitting device E2 to the light emitting device E3 through the first functional material layer 140 at the recess 40b, and the problems of crosstalk and color cast due to the current flowing laterally between different light emitting devices through the first functional material layer 140 may be solved.

In some embodiments, referring to fig. 2D, one opening may correspond to one recess 40, and the recess 40 may be annular. An orthographic projection of the islands 140a of the first functional material layer on the substrate base is shown in fig. 2D. Referring to fig. 2B, taking the portion of the opening H1 as an example, the island 140a of the first functional material layer 140 may be a portion of the first functional material layer 140 that is located in the opening H1 and is in contact with the first electrode 120 a. That is, in the opening H1, the island 140a is in contact with the first electrode 120a exposed by the opening H1. Since the recess 40 is annular, the portion of the first functional material layer 120 located in the opening H1 may be discontinuous at the recess 40, so that the recess 40 may surround the island 140a in the first functional material layer. In this way, the current cannot be transmitted either laterally in the direction parallel to x at the recess 40 through the first functional material layer 120 or longitudinally in the direction parallel to y at the recess 40 through the first functional material layer 120, and the problems of crosstalk and color cast due to the lateral and/or longitudinal flow of the current between different light emitting devices through the first functional material layer 140 can be solved.

With continued reference to fig. 2B, the display panel 100 provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure may further include a second functional material layer 160. The second functional material layer 160 may be disposed on a side of the light emitting layer 150 away from the substrate base 110. The second functional material layer 160 has similar properties and functions to the first functional material layer 140, and thus, will not be described again. In one light emitting device E, the first functional material layer 140 and the second functional material layer 160 may function cooperatively with each other. For example, when the first functional material layer 140 functions to inject and/or transport holes, the second functional material layer 160 may function to inject and/or transport electrons; when the first functional material layer 140 functions to inject and/or transport electrons, the second functional material layer 160 may function to inject and/or transport holes.

In some embodiments, the portion of the second functional material layer 160 located in the opening H is discontinuous at the recess 40. When the height d2 of the recess 40 is large, for example, d2 is larger than the sum of the thicknesses of the second functional material layer 160 and the layers between the second functional material layer 160 and the first electrode layer 120 (for example, the light-emitting layer 150 and the first functional material layer 140 in fig. 2), at this time, the portion of the second functional material layer 160 located in the opening H may be discontinuous at the recess 40, and the problems of crosstalk and color cast due to the lateral flow of current between different light-emitting devices through the second functional material layer 160 may be further solved.

In some embodiments, referring to fig. 2B and 2C, the display panel 100 provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure may further include a second electrode layer 170. The second electrode layer 170 may be disposed on the substrate base plate 110, and may be disposed on a side of the second functional material layer 160 away from the substrate base plate 110. The second electrode layer 170 may be a unitary film layer. The integrated film layer is formed by coating a substrate with a film layer, wherein the integrated film layer is formed by coating a substrate with a film layer, and the film layer only has one closed outer contour line, namely an orthographic projection of the film layer on the substrate has only one closed outer contour line. Since the second electrode layer 170 is an integral film layer, portions of the second electrode layer 170 in the respective openings may be connected to each other. Thus, when an electrical signal is input to the second electrode layer 170, the same electrical signal may be input to the corresponding portion of the second electrode layer 170 in each opening.

In some possible implementations, the portion of the second electrode layer 170 located in the opening H may be discontinuous at the recess 40. Exemplarily, referring to fig. 3A, since the recess 40 is disposed on each of the sub-sidewalls 30a and 30d of the opening H, the second electrode layer 170 may be discontinuous in parallel to the x-direction in the opening H. Also, since the recesses 40 are not disposed on the sub-sidewalls 30c and 30d of the opening H, the second electrode layer 170 may be continuous in the direction parallel to the y direction, so that the second electrode layer 170 may still be a unitary film layer in the case of the opening H with the recesses 40.

In other possible implementations, referring to fig. 2C, taking a corresponding portion of the opening H1 as an example, a portion of the second functional material layer 160 located on the sidewall of the opening H1 may have a side surface, such as the side surface 161a 'and the side surface 162 a', and the second electrode layer 170 may cover the side surface. For example, the portion of the second functional material layer 170 in the opening H1 may be continuous, that is, in the opening H, the second electrode layer 170 may be a continuous whole layer. Thus, the resistance on the second electrode layer 170 can be reduced, and the display effect of the display panel can be improved.

Some embodiments of the present invention further provide a method for manufacturing a display panel, and the display panel provided in any of the above embodiments can be manufactured by using the method. Fig. 7 is a flowchart of the method, and fig. 8A to 8F are process flowcharts of the method. The method comprises the following steps:

s100, forming a first electrode layer on the substrate.

Referring to fig. 8A, the first electrode layer 120 may be disposed on the substrate base plate 110, and the first electrode layer 120 may include a plurality of first electrodes, such as a first electrode 120a, a first electrode 120b, and a first electrode 120 c.

In some embodiments, the first electrode layer 120 may be fabricated using a sputtering process.

In some embodiments, the first electrode layer 120 may be patterned using a photoresist material using an etching process to form a plurality of first electrodes.

And S200, forming a pixel defining layer on the substrate.

Referring to fig. 8B, the pixel defining layer 130 may be disposed on a side of the first electrode layer 120 away from the substrate 110. The pixel defining layer 130 may have a plurality of openings H thereon, each opening H exposing at least a portion of the first electrode (e.g., the first electrode 120a, the first electrode 120b, and the first electrode 120 c). The side wall of the opening H is provided with a recess 40.

In some embodiments, an etching process may be used to form a plurality of openings H on the pixel defining layer 130 using a photoresist material.

In some embodiments, the material of the pixel defining layer 130 may be a photoresist material, and at this time, an etching process may be directly used to form a plurality of openings H on the pixel defining layer 130 through an exposure process and a development process.

In some embodiments, referring to fig. 9, S200 may include the steps of:

and S211, forming an initial pixel defining layer on the substrate base plate.

Referring to fig. 10A, the initial pixel defining layer 200 has a plurality of first openings 210 thereon, and each of the first openings 210 may expose at least a portion of the first electrode (e.g., the first electrode 120A, the first electrode 120b, and the first electrode 120 c).

In some embodiments, an etching process may be used to form the first opening 210 in the initial pixel defining layer 200 using a photoresist material.

In some embodiments, the initial pixel defining layer 200 may be a photoresist material, and at this time, the first opening 210 may be formed on the initial pixel defining layer 200 through an exposure process and a development process directly using an etching process. Illustratively, the initial pixel defining layer 200 may be a negative photoresist, which may be a polyimide or other organic material having photo-sensitive properties, which organic material has photo-decomposition properties.

And S212, forming a mask layer on the substrate with the initial pixel defining layer.

Referring to fig. 10B, the mask layer 300 has a plurality of second openings 310, each second opening 310 corresponds to the first opening 210, and exposes the bottom of the sidewall of the first opening 210, for example, in the first opening 210, taking the first opening 210a as an example, the bottom 211 of the sidewall is not covered by the mask layer 300, so that the second opening 310a can expose the bottom 211 in the first opening 210 a.

In some embodiments, the material of the mask layer 300 may be a photoresist material, and the second opening 310 may be formed on the mask layer 300 through an exposure development process. When the initial pixel defining layer 200 is also a photoresist material, the material of the mask layer 300 is different from that of the initial pixel defining layer 200, and different etching solutions may be used, so that the structure of the initial pixel defining layer 200 may not be damaged when the mask layer 300 is etched to form the second opening 310.

And S213, etching the exposed parts of the plurality of second openings in the initial pixel defining layer to form concave parts so as to obtain the pixel defining layer.

Referring to fig. 10B and 10C, the exposed portions of the plurality of second openings 210 in the initial pixel defining layer 200 are etched, for example, the bottom 211 of the first opening 210a is etched, so as to form the recess 40, and thus the pixel defining layer 130 is obtained.

In some embodiments, since the material of the initial pixel defining layer 200 is a negative photoresist, the exposure and development process may be continued to further etch the initial pixel defining layer 200 to obtain the recess 40.

In some embodiments, referring to fig. 10C and 10D, after the etching of the second opening 210 is completed, the mask layer 300 may be washed away to obtain the structure shown in fig. 10D.

With continued reference to fig. 7, the method for manufacturing a display panel according to the embodiment of the present invention may further include the following steps:

and S300, forming a first functional material layer on the substrate.

Referring to fig. 8C, the material and structure of the first functional material layer 140 may be as described above, and are not described herein again. The first functional material layer 140 may be disposed on a side of the pixel defining layer 130 away from the substrate base plate 110, and a portion of the first functional material layer 140 located in the opening H is discontinuous at the recess 40.

In some embodiments, the material of the first functional material layer 140 is an organic material, and the first functional material layer 140 may be formed using an evaporation process.

S400, forming a light-emitting layer on the substrate.

Referring to fig. 8D, the light emitting layer 150 may be disposed on a side of the first functional material layer 140 away from the substrate 110.

In some embodiments, the light emitting layer 150 may include a plurality of light emitting patterns, such as a light emitting pattern 150a, a light emitting pattern 150b, and a light emitting pattern 150 c. The materials of the different light emitting patterns may be different so that the different light emitting patterns may emit different colors of light. Light emitting patterns on the light emitting layer 150, such as the light emitting pattern 150a, the light emitting pattern 150b, and the light emitting pattern 150c, may be formed using a fine mask using an evaporation process.

S500 (optional), forming a second functional material layer on the substrate base plate.

Referring to fig. 8E, the second functional material layer 160 may be disposed on a side of the light emitting layer 150 away from the substrate 110. The structure and material of the second functional material layer 160 can be as described above, and are not described herein again.

In some embodiments, the portion of the second functional material layer 160 located in the opening H is discontinuous at the recess 40.

S600 (optional), a second electrode layer is formed on the substrate.

Referring to fig. 8F, the second electrode layer 170 may be disposed on a side of the light emitting layer 150 away from the substrate 110.

In some embodiments, the second electrode layer 170 may be formed using a sputtering process.

Through the above steps, the light emitting device E may be formed on the base substrate 110.

Finally, it should be noted that: the above examples are only intended to illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, but not to limit it; although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments may still be modified, or some technical features may be equivalently replaced; and such modifications or substitutions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the corresponding technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims (14)

1. A display panel, comprising:

a substrate base plate;

a first electrode layer disposed on the substrate base plate, the first electrode layer including: a plurality of first electrodes;

the pixel defining layer is arranged on one side, away from the substrate, of the first electrode layer, a plurality of openings are formed in the pixel defining layer, each opening exposes at least one part of the first electrode, and a concave part is arranged on the side wall of each opening;

the first functional material layer is arranged on one side, away from the substrate base plate, of the pixel defining layer, and the part, located in the opening, of the first functional material layer is discontinuous at the concave part;

and the light-emitting layer is arranged on one side of the first functional material layer, which is far away from the substrate base plate.

2. The display panel according to claim 1,

the concave part is arranged at the bottom of the side wall of the opening.

3. The display panel according to claim 2,

the concave part extends along the edge of the side wall of the opening;

an included angle between a connecting line of two end points in the cross section of the inner wall of the concave part and the bottom surface of the pixel defining layer is larger than 90 degrees and smaller than or equal to 160 degrees; the cross section is perpendicular to the extension direction of the recess.

4. The display panel according to claim 3,

the inner wall of the concave part is a plane or a concave cambered surface.

5. Panel according to claim 1,

the height of the recessed portion is greater than or equal to 0.2 μm and less than or equal to 1 μm.

6. The display panel according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein one of the openings corresponds to a plurality of recesses at intervals;

or, one opening corresponds to one recess, the recess is annular and surrounds the island portion in the first functional material layer, and the island portion is in contact with the first electrode exposed from the opening.

7. The display panel according to claim 6,

the plurality of spaced apart recesses are disposed on at least opposite sides of the sidewall of the opening.

8. The display panel according to claim 7,

the luminescent layer comprises a plurality of luminescent patterns, at least a portion of each luminescent pattern being located in one of the openings;

at least two of the plurality of openings are arranged in a row; in one row, the light-emitting patterns at every two adjacent openings have different light-emitting colors;

the opposite sides of the side walls of the opening are the sides of the side walls of the opening along the extending direction of the row.

9. The display panel according to claim 1, further comprising:

and the second functional material layer is arranged on one side of the light-emitting layer far away from the substrate, and the part of the second functional material layer positioned in the opening is discontinuous at the concave part.

10. The display panel according to claim 9,

further comprising:

the second electrode layer is arranged on one side, far away from the substrate base plate, of the second functional material layer, and the second electrode layer is an integrated film layer.

11. The display panel according to claim 10,

the second electrode layer covers a side surface of a portion of the second functional material layer located on a sidewall of the opening.

12. A display device comprising the display panel according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

13. A method for manufacturing a display panel, comprising:

forming a first electrode layer on a substrate, the first electrode layer comprising: a plurality of first electrodes;

forming a pixel defining layer on the substrate, wherein the pixel defining layer is arranged on one side of the first electrode layer away from the substrate, the pixel defining layer is provided with a plurality of openings, each opening exposes at least one part of the first electrode, and the side wall of each opening is provided with a concave part;

forming a first functional material layer on the substrate base plate, wherein the first functional material layer is arranged on one side of the pixel defining layer away from the substrate base plate, and the part of the first functional material layer in the opening is discontinuous at the concave part;

and forming a light emitting layer on the substrate, wherein the light emitting layer is arranged on one side of the first functional material layer, which is far away from the substrate.

14. The method for manufacturing a display panel according to claim 13,

forming the pixel defining layer on the substrate comprises:

forming an initial pixel defining layer on the substrate, the initial pixel defining layer having a plurality of first openings thereon, each of the first openings exposing at least a portion of the first electrode;

forming a mask layer on the substrate with the initial pixel defining layer, wherein the mask layer is provided with a plurality of second openings, each second opening corresponds to one first opening, and the bottom of the side wall of each first opening is exposed;

and etching the exposed parts of the plurality of second openings in the initial pixel defining layer to form concave parts so as to obtain the pixel defining layer.

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