CN113471384A

CN113471384A - Display panel, preparation method thereof and display device

Info

Publication number: CN113471384A
Application number: CN202110732684.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 袁长龙; 徐映嵩
Original assignee: BOE Technology Group Co Ltd; Chengdu BOE Optoelectronics Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: BOE Technology Group Co Ltd; Chengdu BOE Optoelectronics Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-06-29
Filing date: 2021-06-29
Publication date: 2021-10-01

Abstract

The disclosure provides a display panel, a preparation method thereof and a display device, relates to the technical field of display, and is used for reducing the overall resistance of an electrode covering a display area of the display panel. The display panel comprises a plurality of first electrodes, a plurality of second electrode layers, a light-emitting functional layer and an auxiliary electrode, wherein the auxiliary electrode comprises a conductive part and a first pattern which are in contact with each other, and one part of the surface of the first pattern, which is close to the substrate, exceeds the surface of the conductive part, which is far away from the substrate; the light-emitting functional layer comprises a first part and a second part, the first part covers the first pattern, the second part is the part of the light-emitting functional layer except the first part, and the second part and the first part have a gap at the position where the second part and the first part exceed; the sheet resistance of the second electrode layer is greater than that of the conductive portion, and the second electrode layer is in contact with the conductive portion through the gap.

Description

Display panel, preparation method thereof and display device

Technical Field

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

Background

An OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) display panel is favored in the market because it has many advantages such as low power consumption, short response time, high Light Emitting efficiency, high brightness, and wide viewing angle.

The OLED display panel has a plurality of organic light emitting diodes disposed therein to implement image display. The organic light-emitting diode comprises a first electrode, a second electrode and a light-emitting functional layer, wherein the first electrode and the second electrode are oppositely arranged, the light-emitting functional layer is arranged between the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer, the second electrode is arranged on one side, close to the light-emitting surface of the display panel, of the first electrode, and the light-emitting functional layer emits light under the driving of the first electrode and the second electrode. The first electrode layer comprises a plurality of first electrodes, the second electrode is integrally formed and is arranged opposite to the first electrodes, and voltages applied to the first electrodes can be controlled independently, so that the electric field which can be formed can be controlled independently.

Because the light emitted by the light-emitting functional layer needs to pass through the second electrode for emergence, the thickness of the second electrode needs to be smaller so as to ensure that the second electrode has higher light transmittance, and therefore the light-emitting effect of the display panel is ensured. In the case where the material of the second electrode is determined, the smaller the thickness of the second electrode is, the larger the sheet resistance thereof is, and the larger the resistance of the corresponding second electrode as a whole is. The larger resistance causes display brightness difference at different positions from the edge of the display panel, which has adverse effect on the display effect of the display panel.

Disclosure of Invention

Embodiments of the present invention provide a display panel, a manufacturing method thereof, and a display device, which are used to reduce the overall resistance of an electrode covering a display area of the display panel, thereby reducing the brightness difference of image display at different positions of the display area of the display panel and improving the display effect.

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

in a first aspect, there is provided a display panel having a plurality of light emitting areas, the display panel comprising: a substrate, a first electrode layer, an auxiliary electrode, a light emitting function layer, and a second electrode layer provided on the substrate; the first electrode layer comprises a plurality of first electrodes, and each first electrode is arranged corresponding to one light-emitting region; the auxiliary electrode and the first electrode layer are positioned on the same side of the substrate, the auxiliary electrode comprises a conductive part and a first pattern which are in contact, the first pattern is positioned on one side, away from the substrate, of the conductive part, the orthographic projection of the first pattern on the substrate is positioned between at least two adjacent light-emitting areas, and a part of the surface, close to the substrate, of the first pattern exceeds the surface, away from the substrate, of the conductive part; the light-emitting functional layer is positioned on one side of the first electrode layer and the auxiliary electrode, which is far away from the substrate, and comprises a first part and a second part, wherein the first part covers the first pattern, the second part is the part of the light-emitting functional layer except the first part, and the second part and the first part have a gap at the position of the excess; the second electrode layer is located on one side, far away from the substrate, of the light-emitting functional layer, the square resistance of the second electrode layer is larger than that of the conductive portion, and the second electrode layer is in contact with the conductive portion through the gap.

In some embodiments, a portion of the surface of the first pattern close to the substrate beyond a surface of the conductive portion remote from the substrate is annular in shape.

In some embodiments, the material of the first pattern is a conductive material.

In some embodiments, the sheet resistance of the first pattern is less than the sheet resistance of the second electrode layer.

In some embodiments, the second electrode layer is also in contact with the first pattern through the void.

In some embodiments, the conductive portion is more reductive than the first pattern.

In some embodiments, the conductive portion comprises a second pattern and a third pattern in contact, the third pattern being located on a side of the second pattern close to the substrate; the second pattern and the third pattern are made of conductive materials, and the square resistance of the second pattern and the square resistance of the third pattern are both smaller than that of the second electrode layer; the second electrode layer is in contact with at least one of the second pattern and the third pattern through the gap.

In some embodiments, the second pattern is more reductive than the first and third patterns.

In some embodiments, one of the first, second, and third patterns having the smallest resistivity has the largest thickness.

In some embodiments, the second pattern has a thickness greater than the thicknesses of the first and third patterns.

In some embodiments, the third pattern and the plurality of first electrodes are disposed in the same layer.

In some embodiments, the auxiliary electrode is in a grid shape, and one or at least two first electrodes are arranged in a mesh of the auxiliary electrode.

In some embodiments, at least one break point is provided on the auxiliary electrode.

In some embodiments, the display panel further comprises: and the conductive pattern is arranged on the same layer as the first electrode, is positioned on one side of the conductive part close to the substrate, and is coupled with the conductive part.

In some embodiments, a surface of the auxiliary electrode near the substrate is in contact with a surface of the conductive pattern far from the substrate.

In a second aspect, a display device is provided, which comprises the display panel of any one of the first aspect.

In some embodiments, the display device further comprises: and the optical sensor is arranged on one side of the display panel, which is deviated from the light emergent surface.

In a third aspect, a method for manufacturing a display panel having a plurality of light-emitting regions is provided, the method comprising: forming a first electrode layer on a substrate, the first electrode layer including a plurality of first electrodes, each first electrode being disposed corresponding to one light-emitting region; forming an auxiliary electrode on the substrate, wherein the auxiliary electrode and the first electrode layer are positioned on the same side of the substrate, the auxiliary electrode comprises a conductive part and a first pattern which are in contact, the first pattern is positioned on one side, away from the substrate, of the conductive part, the orthographic projection of the first pattern on the substrate is positioned between at least two adjacent light-emitting areas, and a part of the surface, close to the substrate, of the first pattern exceeds the surface, away from the substrate, of the conductive part; forming a light-emitting function layer on the substrate, the light-emitting function layer being located on a side of the first electrode layer and the auxiliary electrode away from the substrate, the light-emitting function layer including a first portion and a second portion, the first portion being covered on the first pattern, the second portion being a portion of the light-emitting function layer other than the first portion, the second portion and the first portion having a gap at the excess position; forming a second electrode layer on the substrate, wherein the second electrode layer is positioned on one side of the light-emitting functional layer away from the substrate, and the square resistance of the second electrode layer is greater than that of the conductive part; the second electrode layer is in contact with the conductive portion through the gap.

The display panel comprises an auxiliary electrode, wherein the auxiliary electrode comprises a conductive part and a first pattern which are in contact with each other, and the auxiliary electrode is provided with a specific shape that one part of the surface of the first pattern close to a substrate exceeds the surface of the conductive part far away from the substrate, so that a first part and a second part except the first part which are covered on the first pattern in a light-emitting function layer have a gap at the exceeding position, the second electrode layer is in contact with the conductive part through the gap, the sheet resistance of the second electrode layer is greater than that of the conductive part, and the conductive part with the smaller sheet resistance is replaced correspondingly to the part of the second electrode layer at the position of the conductive part, so that the overall resistance of the second electrode layer is reduced, the brightness difference is reduced, and the more uniform display effect is realized. The orthographic projection of the first pattern on the substrate is positioned between at least two adjacent light-emitting areas, and the first part and the second part of the light-emitting functional layer are provided with gaps at the positions beyond the first pattern and the second pattern, namely the light-emitting functional layers in the two adjacent light-emitting areas are mutually separated and do not interfere with each other, so that an ideal film coating state is achieved, and the display effect is further improved.

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 block diagram of a display device according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 2 is a block diagram of a display panel provided in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 3 is a diagram of a subpixel arrangement structure according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 4 is a diagram of another sub-pixel arrangement structure provided in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 5 is a structural diagram of a display panel including a driving circuit according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 6 is a structural diagram of a display panel according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a diagram of an encapsulation layer structure provided by at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an auxiliary electrode provided in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of another auxiliary electrode provided in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a diagram of a second electrode layer structure provided in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a diagram of yet another second electrode layer structure provided in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 12 is a diagram of a structure of another display panel provided in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a diagram of yet another second electrode layer structure provided in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a diagram of yet another second electrode layer structure provided in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 15 is a diagram of yet another second electrode layer structure provided in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 16 is a structural view of another display panel provided in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 17 is a block diagram of an auxiliary electrode provided in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 18 is a block diagram of another auxiliary electrode provided in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 19 is a diagram illustrating an auxiliary electrode structure provided with a disconnection point according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 20 is a diagram of a structure of another display panel provided in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 21 is a structural view of another display panel provided in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 22 is a diagram of a touch layer structure according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 23 is a flowchart illustrating a process of manufacturing a display panel according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 24 is a flowchart illustrating a process of manufacturing a display panel according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 25 is a flowchart of a process for manufacturing a display panel according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 26 is a flow chart illustrating a method for manufacturing an auxiliary electrode according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 27 is a flowchart of a process for manufacturing an auxiliary electrode according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

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 present invention, it is to be understood that the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on those shown in the drawings, and are only for convenience of description and simplicity of description, and do not indicate or imply that the referenced devices or elements must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and thus, are not to 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" or "approximately" includes the stated values as well as average values within an acceptable deviation range 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 the 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.

In one aspect, some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a display device, which may be, for example: the display, the television, the billboard, the Digital photo frame, the laser printer with the display function, the telephone, the mobile phone, the Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), the Digital camera, the portable video camera, the viewfinder, the navigator, the vehicle, the large-area wall, the household electrical appliance, the information inquiry equipment (such as the business inquiry equipment of the departments of e-government affairs, bank, hospital, electric power, etc.).

Referring to fig. 1, the display device 1 includes a display panel 100 configured to display an image, but may include other components. Exemplarily, the display device 1 further comprises an optical sensor 200, and the optical sensor 200 is disposed at a side of the display panel 100 facing away from the light exit surface, i.e., the optical sensor 200 is an off-screen optical sensor. The optical sensor 200 may be a texture sensor for texture recognition to improve safety in use. Wherein, the line recognition may include: at least one of fingerprint recognition and palm print recognition, etc. Specifically, light reflected by the fingers of the user passes through the display panel and is received and recognized by the optical sensor, so that the texture recognition is realized. The optical sensor 200 may also be an image sensor configured to capture images, such as may be used as a front-facing camera.

In another aspect, some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a display panel, for example, the display panel may be an OLED display panel, a QLED (Quantum Dot Light Emitting Diodes) display panel, or the like. For example, referring to fig. 2, the display panel 100 has a display area (AA area for short) and a peripheral area S. The peripheral area S is located on at least one side of the display area. For example, the peripheral region S may be disposed around the display region.

For example, referring to fig. 2, the display panel 100 may include a plurality of sub-pixels P located in an AA area. At least one sub-pixel P (e.g., each sub-pixel) of the display panel 100 includes a pixel circuit (may also be referred to as a pixel driving circuit) 101 and a light emitting device L. Illustratively, the plurality of pixel circuits 101 may be arranged in an array. For example, the pixel circuits 101 arranged in a row in the X direction are referred to as the same row of pixel circuits 101, and the pixel circuits 101 arranged in a row in the Y direction are referred to as the same column of pixel circuits 101. Wherein the pixel circuit 101 is coupled with the light emitting device L. The pixel circuit 101 is configured to drive the light emitting device L to emit light. The pixel circuit 101 may include a plurality of thin film transistors and at least one capacitor, for example, the pixel circuit 101 may have a circuit structure of 2T1C (including 2 thin film transistors and 1 capacitor), 7T1C (including 7 thin film transistors and 1 capacitor), and the like, which is not limited herein. An area where one light emitting device L actually emits light is referred to as a light emitting area, for example, after the display panel 100 is lit, an area occupied by a bright point at one sub-pixel P is the light emitting area of the sub-pixel P. As can be seen, the display panel 100 has a plurality of light emitting regions, one light emitting region corresponding to each sub-pixel P.

The thin film transistor in the pixel circuit 101 may employ a top gate or bottom gate structure. When the thin film transistor is of a top gate structure, the thin film transistor comprises an active layer, a gate insulation layer, a gate, an interlayer dielectric layer and a source drain which are sequentially arranged. When the thin film transistor is of a bottom gate structure, the thin film transistor comprises a gate (forming a gate), a gate insulating layer, an active layer and a source drain which are sequentially arranged. The active layer of the thin film transistor may be formed of amorphous silicon, single crystal silicon, polycrystalline silicon, or an oxide semiconductor. For example, the thin film transistor is a top gate type Low Temperature Polysilicon (LTPS) transistor. The active layer of the thin film transistor includes a channel region not doped with an impurity, and a source region and a drain region formed by doping an impurity at both sides of the channel region. The doped impurities are different according to the types of the thin film transistors and can be N-type impurities or P-type impurities.

Illustratively, referring to fig. 3 and 4, the plurality of subpixels P includes a first color subpixel, a second color subpixel, and a third color subpixel; for example, the first color, the second color, and the third color are three primary colors; for example, the first color, the second color, and the third color are red, green, and blue, respectively, i.e., the plurality of subpixels P include a red subpixel R, a green subpixel G, and a blue subpixel B. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the display panel has many different arrangements of the sub-pixels P, and the sub-pixels P may form a plurality of minimal repeating units, and one minimal repeating unit is a minimal repeating set formed by the sub-pixels P. Meanwhile, because the luminous efficiency, the service life and the like of the sub-pixels P with different colors are different, the shapes and the sizes of the sub-pixels P with different colors are also different. For example, the sub-pixel P with lower light-emitting efficiency may be made larger, and the sub-pixel P with higher light-emitting efficiency may be made smaller, so as to balance the light-emitting conditions of the sub-pixels P with different colors, thereby completing normal display. The specific arrangement of the sub-pixels P in the minimum repeating unit is not limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, referring to fig. 3, the arrangement of the sub-pixels P is a Diamond arrangement (also referred to as a Diamond arrangement), and each minimum repeating unit includes two green sub-pixels G, one red sub-pixel R, and one blue sub-pixel B. For another example, referring to fig. 4, the arrangement of the sub-pixels P is a GGRB arrangement (also referred to as a Delta arrangement), and each minimum repeating unit also includes two green sub-pixels G, one red sub-pixel R, and one blue sub-pixel B.

Exemplarily, referring to fig. 5, the display device 1 may further include a driving circuit 102. The driving circuit 102 is used for providing a driving signal required by the display panel 100, so that the pixel circuit in the display panel 100 drives the light emitting device to emit light under the control of the driving signal to realize image display.

Illustratively, referring to fig. 5, the driving Circuit 102 includes at least one (e.g., may be a Printed Circuit Board (PCB)) and/or at least one (e.g., may be a Flexible Printed Circuit (FPC)), and further includes at least one (e.g., may be an Integrated Circuit Chip (IC)) disposed in a Pad area, where a side of the Pad area near the display panel may be bent to be a bending area. Illustratively, when the display device 1 has a touch function, at least one (e.g., one) touch IC may be further included in the driving circuit 102, and the touch IC may be coupled to the printed circuit board to assist the touch function of the display device 1.

Illustratively, referring to fig. 6, the display panel 100 includes a substrate 103, the substrate 103 being configured to carry a plurality of film layers of the display panel 100. Specifically, the substrate 103 may be a rigid substrate; the rigid substrate may be, for example, a glass substrate or a PMMA (Polymethyl methacrylate) substrate. As another example, the substrate 103 may be a flexible substrate; the flexible substrate may be, for example, a PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) substrate, a PEN (Polyethylene naphthalate) substrate, a PI (Polyimide) substrate, or ultra-thin glass.

Referring to fig. 6, the display panel 100 includes a first electrode layer 110, a second electrode layer 120, an auxiliary electrode 130, and a light-emitting functional layer EL disposed on a substrate 103, wherein the auxiliary electrode 130 is located on the same side of the substrate 103 as the first electrode layer 110 (i.e., above the substrate 103 in fig. 6), the light-emitting functional layer EL is located on a side of the first electrode layer 110 and the auxiliary electrode 130 away from the substrate 103, and the second electrode layer 120 is located on a side of the light-emitting functional layer EL away from the substrate 103.

Specifically, the first electrode layer 110 includes a plurality of first electrodes 111, and each of the first electrodes 111 is disposed corresponding to one of the light emitting regions EP. That is, the first electrode layer 110 is patterned to form a plurality of first electrodes 111, each sub-pixel includes one first electrode 111, and the plurality of sub-pixels share the second electrode layer 120. The first electrode layer 110 and the second electrode layer 120 can be applied with voltages of different magnitudes, one of the voltages with a larger value is an anode, the other one is a cathode, and an electric field is generated between the two electrodes, so that the light emitting functional layer EL arranged between the two electrodes emits light under the action of the electric field. For example, the voltage applied to the first electrode 111 is higher than the voltage applied to the second electrode layer 120, the first electrode 111 is an anode, and the second electrode layer 120 is a cathode. On the premise that the relative magnitude of the voltages of the first electrode layer 110 and the second electrode layer 120 is determined, the voltages applied to the plurality of first electrodes 111 in the first electrode layer 110 can be individually controlled, thereby achieving individual control of the light emission luminance of the light emission functional layer EL portion corresponding to the first electrodes 111. When the first electrode 111 and the second electrode layer 120 are provided as above, each light-emitting device L (i.e., one light-emitting region EP) includes a portion where orthographic projections of one first electrode 111, a portion of the second electrode layer 120, and a portion of the light-emitting functional layer EL on the substrate 103 overlap each other.

Exemplarily, one of the first electrode layer 110 and the second electrode layer 120 near the light emitting surface of the display panel may be formed of a transparent conductive material having a high work function, and the electrode material thereof may include Indium Tin Oxide (ITO), Indium Zinc Oxide (IZO), Indium Gallium Oxide (IGO), Gallium Zinc Oxide (GZO) zinc oxide (ZnO), indium oxide (In2O3), Aluminum Zinc Oxide (AZO), a carbon nanotube, and the like; one of the two electrodes far away from the light-emitting surface of the display panel may be formed of a material with high conductivity and low work function, and the electrode material may include an alloy such as magnesium aluminum alloy (MgAl) and lithium aluminum alloy (LiAl), or a simple metal such as magnesium (Mg), aluminum (Al), lithium (Li), and silver (Ag).

The light Emitting functional Layer EL includes an organic light Emitting Layer (EML), and the Material of the organic light Emitting Layer may include a low molecular weight organic Material or a polymer Material, and these materials are fluorescent or phosphorescent materials that can emit red light, green light, blue light, or white light under the action of an electric field. Specifically, when the material of the light-emitting functional layer EL is the same material and the light emitted by the light-emitting functional layer EL is the same color, the light-emitting functional layer EL may cover the display area of the display panel 100, referring to fig. 6, a plurality of color filters CF (color filter) and a black matrix bm (black matrix) may be disposed on one side of the light-emitting functional layer EL close to the light-emitting surface of the display panel 100, each color filter CF is disposed corresponding to one sub-pixel, and the color filters CF may include a red filter, a blue filter, a green filter, and the like, and the light of the sub-pixel P is expressed as a specific color through the color filters CF, thereby realizing full color of the display panel 100. The black matrix BM is used to separate the color filters CF of different colors to prevent color mixing, and is made of a black resin including at least one of carbon particles, titanium particles, and pigments coated with an insulating material. Meanwhile, under the condition that the display panel is provided with the optical sensor, the arrangement of the color filter CF and the black matrix BM can also reduce the brightness of the ambient light irradiated into the display panel 100 to a certain extent, so that the interference of the exit of the ambient light reflected by the reflecting structure in the display panel 100 to the image to be displayed can be reduced, and the contrast of the image displayed by the display panel 100 can be improved.

In addition, in order to improve the light emitting efficiency of the light emitting device L in the display panel 100, the light emitting function layer EL may further include one or more of an Electron Transport Layer (ETL), an Electron Injection Layer (EIL), a Hole Transport Layer (HTL), and a Hole Injection Layer (HIL) in addition to the organic light emitting layer. At least one of the light emitting functional layers EL may cover the display area of the display panel 100.

For example, referring to fig. 6, in order to avoid that water and oxygen in the environment intrude into the display panel 100 to adversely affect the light emitting performance of the light emitting device and ultimately cause shortening of the service life of the display panel 100, an encapsulation layer 140 may be further disposed in the display panel 100 to avoid the above problem, and specifically, the encapsulation layer 140 is disposed on the side of the second electrode layer 120 away from the substrate 103, and may be disposed by a thin film encapsulation technique. Illustratively, the encapsulation layer 140 may be a single layer or multiple layers. For example, referring to fig. 7, the encapsulation layer 140 may be three layers including a first inorganic layer CVD1, a second inorganic layer CVD2, and an organic layer IJP disposed therebetween. The thickness of the encapsulation layer 140 is not uniform, and the surface of the side away from the substrate is a flat surface. Among them, the first inorganic layer CVD1 and the second inorganic layer CVD2 may be formed by a plasma chemical vapor deposition process, and the organic layer IJP may be formed by an inkjet printing process.

Illustratively, with continued reference to fig. 6, the display panel 100 may further include a planarization layer 150 disposed between the thin film transistor TFT and the first electrode layer 110, and a pixel defining layer 160 disposed on a side of the first electrode layer 110 away from the substrate 103. In which a plurality of openings 161 and a barrier wall surrounding each opening 161 are provided on the pixel defining layer 160, and one light emitting device L is provided in one opening 161, that is, one light emitting region EP is provided in each opening 161.

Referring to fig. 6, the auxiliary electrode 130 includes a conductive portion LP and a first pattern 131 in contact, the first pattern 131 is located on a side of the conductive portion LP away from the substrate 103, an orthographic projection of the first pattern 131 on the substrate 103 is located between at least two (for example, any two) adjacent light emitting areas EP, and a portion of a surface of the first pattern 131 close to the substrate 103 exceeds a surface of the conductive portion LP away from the substrate 103. Specifically, the material of the first pattern 131 is not limited too much, the material of the first pattern 131 may be a conductive material, and may also be an insulating material, and meanwhile, the specific position where the auxiliary electrode 130 is disposed is not limited too much, for example, the auxiliary electrode 130 may be disposed on one of the planarization layer 150 or the pixel defining layer 160. The orthographic projection of each first pattern 131 on the substrate 103 is located between two adjacent light emitting areas EP, no overlapping area exists between the orthographic projection of the first pattern 131 on the substrate 103 and the two light emitting areas EP adjacent to the orthographic projection, namely, each auxiliary electrode 130 is arranged between the two adjacent light emitting areas EP, and the arrangement of the first pattern 131 (namely, the auxiliary electrode 130) does not shield the light emitting areas EP, so that the light emitting effect of the display panel 100 is prevented from being adversely affected. A portion of the surface of the first pattern 131 close to the substrate 103 beyond the surface of the conductive portion LP away from the substrate 103, see fig. 8, may be a portion of an orthographic projection (hereinafter referred to as a first projection D1) of the surface of the first pattern 131 close to the substrate 103 (hereinafter referred to as a lower surface of the first pattern 131) on the substrate 103 overlapping a portion of an orthographic projection of the surface of the conductive portion LP away from the substrate 103 (hereinafter referred to as an upper surface of the conductive portion LP) on the substrate 103, the overlapping region being a second projection D2; referring to fig. 9, it is also possible that the first projection D1 completely covers the orthographic projection of the upper surface of the conductive portion LP on the substrate 103, and there is a gap between the edge of the first projection D1 and the edge of the orthographic projection of the upper surface of the conductive portion LP on the substrate 103. The first projection D1 and the second projection D2 are at least partially overlapped, a gap is formed between the edges of the non-overlapped parts, and the part of the lower surface of the first pattern 131 corresponding to the gap is the excess part.

With continued reference to fig. 6, the light emitting functional layer EL includes a first portion EL1 and a second portion EL2, the first portion EL1 overlies the first pattern 131, the second portion EL2 is a portion of the light emitting functional layer EL other than the first portion EL1, and the second portion EL2 has a gap at an excess position from the first portion EL 1. Specifically, the light-emitting functional layer EL may be formed by a deposition process, the organic light-emitting material of the light-emitting functional layer EL tends to be deposited in a straight line, and due to a height difference between a position corresponding to the excess portion and the pixel defining layer 160, the light-emitting functional layer EL may be disconnected at a position corresponding to the excess portion to form a gap, for any two adjacent light-emitting regions EP in which the auxiliary electrode 130 is disposed in the middle, the light-emitting functional layers EL disposed at two sides of the auxiliary electrode 130 along the arrangement direction of the two light-emitting regions EP and respectively corresponding to the two light-emitting regions EP are disconnected from each other and have a gap, that is, the auxiliary electrode 130 having the excess portion may completely separate the light-emitting functional layer EL portions in the light-emitting regions EP disposed at two sides thereof, and the light-emitting functional layer EL portions in the light-emitting regions EP may be separated from each other and do not interfere with each other, so that the light-emitting functional layers in the two adjacent light-emitting regions EP may realize a more desirable film-coating state, is favorable for improving the display effect.

With continued reference to fig. 6, the sheet resistance of the second electrode layer 120 is greater than that of the conductive portion LP, and the second electrode layer 120 is in contact with the conductive portion LP through the gap. For example, the material of the conductive portion LP may be a simple metal such as aluminum (Al), lithium (Li), or silver (Ag), or may be Indium Tin Oxide (ITO), Indium Zinc Oxide (IZO), Indium Gallium Oxide (IGO), Gallium Zinc Oxide (GZO), or zinc oxide (ZnO). The sheet resistance of the conductive part LP is smaller than that of the second conductive layer 120, where Rs is the sheet resistance, ρ is the resistivity of the material, and t is the thickness of the materialThe sheet resistance of the layer 120, i.e., when the conductive portion LP and the second electrode layer 120 are equal in thickness, the resistivity of the material of the conductive portion LP is less than the resistivity of the material of the second electrode layer 120; when the resistivity of the material of the conductive portion LP is equal to that of the second electrode layer 120, the thickness of the conductive portion LP is greater than that of the second electrode layer 120; ρ is the thickness and resistivity of the material of the conductive portion LP and the second electrode layer 120 are not equal to each other_{A second electrode layer}/t_{A second electrode layer}>ρ_{Conductive part}/t_{Conductive part}. In the case where the light emitting function layer EL and the second electrode layer 120 are provided in the manner as described above, the second electrode layer 120 is in contact with the conductive portion LP through the void, for example, referring to fig. 10, the second electrode layer 120 may be in contact with the conductive portion LP covering only a part of the void; for another example, referring to fig. 11, the second electrode layer 120 may completely cover the void and contact the conductive portion LP.

Specifically, the second electrode layer 120 may be formed by sputter deposition, and different from the light emitting functional layer EL, since the particles of the material of the second electrode layer 120 are deposited by diffuse reflection during the sputter deposition, the material of the second electrode layer 120 formed by sputter deposition does not necessarily break at the position corresponding to the excess part of the auxiliary electrode 130 to form a gap, so that the formed second electrode layer 120 can completely cover the light emitting functional layer EL and the second electrode layer 120 contacts the conductive portion LP through a gap part, since the sheet resistance of the conductive portion LP is smaller than that of the second electrode layer 120, the conductive portion LP having a smaller sheet resistance is replaced to the portion of the second electrode layer 120 corresponding to the position of the conductive portion LP, compared to the second electrode layer 120 integrally formed in the related art and disposed opposite to the plurality of first electrodes 111, the second electrode layer 120 coupled to the auxiliary electrode 130 in the display panel 100 provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure has a smaller resistance as a whole, the voltage drop caused by the resistance of the second electrode layer 120 is reduced, so that the brightness difference is reduced, and a more uniform display effect is realized. That is, the specific shape design of the auxiliary electrode 130 not only can completely separate the light-emitting functional layer EL portions in the light-emitting areas EP disposed at both sides thereof to form a gap, so that the light-emitting functional layer EL portions in the two adjacent light-emitting areas EP can realize an ideal film-coating state, which is beneficial to realizing the beneficial control of the light-emitting functional layer EL portion corresponding to each light-emitting area EP, but also the conductive portion LP with a small square resistance can be coupled with the second electrode layer 120 to reduce the overall resistance of the second electrode layer 120, thereby improving the display effect.

In addition, when the material of the first pattern 131 is a conductive material, the relative sizes of the sheet resistances of the first pattern 131 and the second electrode layer 120 are not limited too much, the sheet resistance of the first pattern 131 may not be smaller than the sheet resistance of the second electrode layer 120, or the sheet resistance of the first pattern 131 may be smaller than the sheet resistance of the second electrode layer 120.

Illustratively, a portion of the surface of the first pattern close to the substrate beyond a surface of the conductive portion remote from the substrate is annular in shape. That is, the portion of the first projection that does not overlap the second projection is annular, referring to fig. 12, that is, both sides of the auxiliary electrode 130 along the arrangement direction of the two adjacent light emitting areas EP have an excess portion, which not only can ensure that the light emitting functional layers EL disposed on both sides of the auxiliary electrode 130 and respectively corresponding to the two light emitting areas EP are completely separated, but also can ensure that, for each light emitting area EP of the two light emitting areas EP, the portion corresponding to the light emitting functional layer EL in the light emitting area EP and the first portion EL1 of the light emitting functional layer EL covering the first pattern 131 are completely separated, so that the film coating state of the portion of the light emitting functional layer EL corresponding to the light emitting area EP is better, and the beneficial control of the portion of the light emitting functional layer EL corresponding to each light emitting area EP is more facilitated, which is beneficial to further improving the display effect.

Illustratively, the material of the first pattern is a conductive material. Specifically, the material of the first pattern may be titanium (Ti), copper (Cu), molybdenum (Mo), tungsten (W), aluminum (Al), silver (Ag), or the like, or may be Indium Tin Oxide (ITO), Indium Zinc Oxide (IZO), Indium Gallium Oxide (IGO), Gallium Zinc Oxide (GZO), zinc oxide (ZnO), or the like, which is not limited to a large amount. Under the condition that the auxiliary electrode comprises the conductive part, the material of the first pattern which is in contact with the conductive part is set to be the conductive material, so that the total resistance of the auxiliary electrode is the total resistance of the conductive part and the first pattern which are connected in parallel, the total resistance of the auxiliary electrode is further reduced, the corresponding resistance of the second electrode layer which is in contact with the auxiliary electrode is also smaller, the voltage drop caused by the resistance of the second electrode layer is further reduced, the brightness difference is reduced, and the better display effect is realized.

Exemplarily, on the premise that the material of the first pattern is a conductive material, it is further defined that the sheet resistance of the first pattern is smaller than that of the second electrode layer, the overall resistance reduction degree of the second electrode layer and the auxiliary electrode which are in contact with each other is larger, the brightness difference of image display at different positions in the display area of the corresponding display panel is smaller, and the display effect is further improved.

Exemplarily, referring to fig. 11, the second electrode layer 120 is also in contact with the first pattern 131 through the gap. The first pattern 131 and the conductive portion LP are both conductive, and the second electrode layer 120 is in contact with both the first pattern 131 and the conductive portion LP in the auxiliary electrode 130, so that the connection reliability is higher, and when the connection relationship between the second electrode layer 120 and one of the first pattern and the conductive portion LP fails, the effect of reducing the overall resistance of the second electrode layer 120 can still be achieved through the connection relationship between the second electrode layer and the other one of the first pattern and the conductive portion LP.

Illustratively, the conductive portion is more reductive than the first pattern. When any oxidizing solution is adopted for etching, the conductive part is easier to oxidize and etch, the process difficulty of forming the auxiliary electrode with the shape can be reduced, and the control optimization of the production cost is facilitated.

Illustratively, referring to fig. 12, the conductive portion LP includes a second pattern 132 and a third pattern 133 in contact, and the third pattern 133 is located on a side of the second pattern 132 close to the substrate 103. The second pattern 132 and the third pattern 133 are made of a conductive material, the sheet resistance of the second pattern 132 and the third pattern 133 is smaller than the sheet resistance of the second electrode layer 120, and the second electrode layer 120 is in contact with at least one of the second pattern 132 and the third pattern 133 through a gap. Specifically, the material for the third pattern 133 is the same as the material for the first pattern 131 and the conductive portion LP, which is not described herein again, and the material for the second pattern 132 and the third pattern 133 may be the same or different. For example, the first pattern 131 and the third pattern 133 are made of the same material and are both titanium (Ti), and the second pattern 132 is made of aluminum (Al) different from the same material. Referring to fig. 13, the second electrode layer 120 may be in contact with the conductive portion LP such that the second electrode layer 120 is in contact with only the second pattern 132; referring to fig. 14, the second electrode layer 120 may be in contact with only the third pattern 133; referring to fig. 15, the second electrode layer 120 may also be in contact with both the second pattern 132 and the third pattern 133. When the second electrode layer 120 contacts the conductive portion LP, the sheet resistance of the auxiliary electrode 130 is smaller than that of the second electrode layer 120 no matter whether the material of the first pattern 131 is a conductive material or not, under the condition that the sheet resistance of the second pattern 132 and the third pattern 133 is smaller than that of the second electrode layer 120, the overall resistance of the second electrode layer 120 can be reduced, and the display effect can be improved. In addition, it can be understood that the larger the area of the second electrode layer 120 in contact with the conductive portion LP is, the stronger the connection reliability is, and the more beneficial the service life of the display panel 100 is, so that the second electrode layer 120 has higher connection reliability when in contact with both the second pattern 132 and the third pattern 133.

Illustratively, the second pattern is more reductive than the first and third patterns. The conductive part has stronger reducibility than the first pattern, and the arrangement is favorable for forming the auxiliary electrode 130 in an i shape shown in fig. 15, the orthographic projection of the third pattern 133 in the auxiliary electrode 130 on the substrate 103 surrounds the orthographic projection of the second pattern 132 on the substrate 103, and the distribution range of the third pattern 133 is larger than that of the second pattern 132, so that the third pattern is more easily contacted with the second electrode layer 120, thereby being more favorable for realizing the connection between the second electrode layer 120 and the auxiliary electrode 130, and ensuring that the auxiliary electrode 130 can play a role in reducing the overall resistance of the second electrode layer 120.

Illustratively, one of the first pattern, the second pattern, and the third pattern, which has the smallest resistivity, has the largest thickness. For example, referring to fig. 16, the material of the first pattern 131 and the third pattern 133 is titanium (Ti), the material of the second pattern 132 is aluminum (Al), the resistivity of titanium is greater than that of aluminum under the same temperature condition, and the resistivity of the material of the second pattern 132 is the smallest among the first pattern 131, the second pattern 132 and the third pattern 133, so that the thickness of the second pattern 132 is set to be greater than that of the first pattern 131 and the third pattern 133, so that the sheet resistance of the second pattern 132 is the smallest, and the resistance of the auxiliary electrode 130 formed by the parallel connection of the first pattern 131, the second pattern 132 and the third pattern 133 is further reduced, thereby better reducing the overall resistance of the second electrode layer 120.

With continued reference to fig. 16, when the thickness of the second pattern 132 is greater than the thicknesses of the first pattern 131 and the third pattern 133, the thickness of the second pattern 132 may be, for example, 3 to 6 times the thickness of the second electrode layer 120. Specifically, if the thickness of the second electrode layer 120 is 100 to 160nm, the thickness of the corresponding second pattern 132 is 300 to 960 nm. For example, the thickness of the second electrode layer 120 is 130nm, and the thickness of the second pattern 132 may be 390 to 780 nm. The thickness of the second pattern 132 is much greater than that of the second electrode layer 120, so that the overall resistance of the second electrode layer 120 can be greatly reduced, the brightness difference of image display in different areas of the display panel 100 can be effectively reduced, and the display effect can be improved.

Exemplarily, referring to fig. 16, the third pattern 133 and the plurality of first electrodes 111 are disposed at the same layer. The first electrode 111 is disposed on the planarization layer 150, and the third pattern 133 is also disposed on the planarization layer 150, and at least one (for example, a plurality of) openings 161 corresponding to the third pattern 133 (i.e., the openings 161 corresponding to the auxiliary electrodes 130) are disposed on the pixel defining layer 160 in addition to the plurality of openings 161 corresponding to the light emitting regions EP. Since the auxiliary electrode 130 has a certain thickness, the third pattern 133 and the first electrode 111 are disposed on the same layer, which is equivalent to that the pixel defining layer 160 is not disposed on one side of the auxiliary electrode 130 close to the substrate 103 (i.e., directly under the auxiliary electrode 130), so that the auxiliary electrode 130 is disposed closer to the substrate 103, thereby facilitating to reduce the thickness of the display panel 100 and realizing the lightness and thinness of the display device.

Illustratively, referring to fig. 17 and 18, the auxiliary electrode 130 has a mesh shape, and one or at least two first electrodes 111 are disposed in a mesh of the auxiliary electrode 130. Referring to fig. 17, one auxiliary electrode 130 is disposed between any two adjacent light emitting regions EP of the display panel, the auxiliary electrodes 130 are connected to each other to form a grid, and one first electrode 111 is disposed in each mesh of the grid (i.e., at least one light emitting region EP is disposed in each mesh of the grid). The shape of the mesh is not limited to a large extent, and for example, the mesh may be rectangular, square, circular, oval, or any polygonal shape. Referring to fig. 18, when the distance between two adjacent light emitting regions EP is too small, in order to avoid the auxiliary electrode 130 shielding the light emitting regions EP and affecting the light emitting effect of the display panel, the auxiliary electrode 130 may not be disposed between the two light emitting regions EP with too small distance, the auxiliary electrodes 130 at other positions in the display panel 100 are connected to each other to form a grid, and in this case, one or at least two (for example, two) first electrodes 111 are disposed in each mesh of the grid. The auxiliary electrodes 130 are arranged in a grid shape, which is beneficial to maximizing the distribution range of the auxiliary electrodes 130, and the larger the distribution range of the auxiliary electrodes 130 is, the more auxiliary electrodes 130 with smaller square resistance replace the second electrode layer 120 with larger square resistance, so that the overall resistance of the second electrode layer 120 can be reduced to a greater extent, and the display effect of the display panel can be further improved.

Meanwhile, with reference to fig. 18, when the display device has the optical sensor under the screen, the auxiliary electrode 130 is not arranged between the light-emitting areas EP adjacent to each other, which is also beneficial to reducing the shielding of the auxiliary electrode 130 on the light reflected by the finger of the user to the display panel, so that the optical sensor under the screen receives more reflected light, which is beneficial to improving the accuracy of the line identification and improving the detection effect.

Exemplarily, in case that the display device has an off-screen optical sensor, referring to fig. 19, at least one break point B may be further provided on the auxiliary electrode 130. Similar to the above, the setting of the breakpoint B can further increase the light quantity received by the optical sensor under the screen, which is beneficial to realizing better line identification effect.

Illustratively, referring to fig. 20, the display panel 100 may further include at least one (e.g., may be a plurality of) conductive patterns 170 disposed at a same layer as the first electrode 111, the conductive patterns 170 are located at a side of the conductive portion LP close to the substrate 103, and the conductive patterns 170 and the conductive portion LP are coupled. The conductive pattern 170 may be formed in the same process step as the plurality of first electrodes 111, or may be formed in a different process step from the plurality of first electrodes 111, as long as the conductive pattern 170 is disposed in the same layer as the plurality of first electrodes 111 in the first electrode layer 110, and the others are not limited too much. Referring to fig. 20, the conductive portion LP and the conductive pattern 170 may be electrically connected through a via disposed therebetween; referring to fig. 21, the conductive portion LP and the conductive pattern 170 may also be in direct contact. The conductive pattern 170 is coupled to the conductive portion LP, which is equivalent to connecting the auxiliary electrode 130 and the conductive pattern 170 in parallel, and it can be known from ohm's law analysis that the total resistance is smaller as the resistance in parallel in the parallel circuit is larger, and the total resistance of the auxiliary electrode 130 and the conductive pattern 170 after parallel connection is smaller than the overall resistance of the auxiliary electrode 130, so that the overall resistance of the second electrode layer 120 can be further reduced, and the display effect can be improved.

Illustratively, the shape of the conductive pattern may also be provided as a grid, and similar to the auxiliary electrode pattern, at least one (e.g., may be each) mesh of the conductive pattern grid is provided with one or at least two first electrodes. The beneficial effect that the shape setting of conducting pattern can realize is similar with the above-mentioned auxiliary electrode sets up the latticed beneficial effect, all can further reduce rather than the holistic resistance of the second electrode layer of coupling, is favorable to the promotion of display effect. It can be understood that, similar to the auxiliary electrode, at least one breakpoint can be disposed on the conductive pattern, and an orthographic projection of each breakpoint on the auxiliary electrode on the substrate can coincide with an orthographic projection of one breakpoint on the metal mesh of the conductive pattern on the substrate, so as to maximally reduce the blocking of light rays.

Illustratively, referring to fig. 21, the surface of the auxiliary electrode 130 near the substrate 103 is in contact with the surface of the conductive pattern 170 far from the substrate 103. That is, the auxiliary electrode 130 is directly disposed on the conductive pattern 170, and no other film layer is disposed between the surface of the auxiliary electrode 130 corresponding to the portion where the orthographic projection of the surface of the conductive pattern 170 close to the substrate 103 on the substrate 103 overlaps the orthographic projection of the surface of the conductive pattern 170 far from the substrate 103 on the substrate 103, and the two are in direct contact. Therefore, the overall resistance of the second electrode layer 120 can be further reduced by parallel connection, and the thickness of the display panel 100 is small, which is beneficial to realizing the lightness and thinness of the display panel 100.

The display panel may also have a touch function, and common touch technologies In related technologies include an On Cell (On Cell) touch technology and an In Cell (In Cell) touch technology. For example, the touch of the display panel may be implemented by using an in-cell touch technology.

For example, referring to fig. 21, the display panel 100 may further include a touch layer 180 disposed on a side of the encapsulation layer 140 away from the substrate 103 and configured to sense a touch position, and the touch layer 180 may be disposed to enable the display panel 100 to execute a corresponding control signal according to a touch operation sensed by the touch layer 180, so as to control an image displayed on the display panel 100, thereby implementing human-computer interaction. Specifically, the metal material layer may be directly etched into a metal mesh as shown in fig. 22 by a low temperature process to form the touch layer 180, and at least one first electrode 111 is disposed in each mesh of the mesh. At least one breakpoint is also arranged on the metal grid of the touch layer 180, so that more light rays irradiate the optical sensor under the screen to improve the texture recognition effect. Illustratively, the orthographic projection of each breakpoint on the auxiliary electrode 130 on the substrate 103 coincides with the orthographic projection of one breakpoint on the metal mesh of the touch layer 180 on the substrate 103, so as to minimize the shielding effect on light.

Illustratively, referring to fig. 21, the display panel 100 may further include a polarizing layer 190 disposed on a side of the touch layer 180 away from the substrate 103. The light that is deviated from the external environment enters the display panel 100 from the light emitting surface of the display panel 100 and is reflected by the structures of the pixel driving circuit 102, the first electrode 111, the second electrode layer 120, and the like in the display panel 100, and the reflected light is mixed with the light emitted by the light emitting device and emitted, which causes interference to the image to be displayed, so that the polarizing layer 190 needs to be disposed to prevent the reflected light of the external environment from being emitted, thereby improving the contrast of the image displayed by the display panel 100. For another example, referring to the foregoing, the color filter CF and the black matrix BM may be disposed in the display panel to perform a similar function as the polarizer 190, and then the polarizer 190 may be replaced, so that the image display effect of the display panel may be improved.

For example, referring to fig. 21, the display panel 100 may further include a cover CP disposed on a side of the polarizing layer 190 away from the substrate 103, and the cover CP is attached to the display panel 100 by a glue layer to protect a plurality of film layers in the display panel 100.

In still another aspect, some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method of manufacturing a display panel including a plurality of light emitting regions, as shown in fig. 23, including the following steps S101 to S104.

S101, a first electrode layer 110 is formed over the substrate 103.

Specifically, the first electrode layer 110 includes a plurality of first electrodes 111, and each first electrode 111 is disposed corresponding to one light emitting region.

S102, forming an auxiliary electrode 130 on the substrate 103.

Specifically, the auxiliary electrode 130 and the first electrode layer 110 are located on the same side of the substrate 103, the auxiliary electrode 130 includes a conductive portion LP and a first pattern 131, the first pattern 131 is located on a side of the conductive portion LP away from the substrate 103, an orthographic projection of the first pattern 131 on the substrate 103 is located between at least two adjacent light emitting areas, and a portion of a surface of the first pattern 131 close to the substrate 103 exceeds a surface of the conductive portion LP away from the substrate 103.

S103, a light-emitting functional layer EL is formed over the substrate 103.

Specifically, the light-emitting functional layer EL is located on the side of the first electrode layer 110 and the auxiliary electrode 130 away from the substrate 103, the light-emitting functional layer EL includes a first portion EL1 and a second portion EL2, the first portion EL1 covers the first pattern 131, the second portion EL2 is a portion of the light-emitting functional layer EL other than the first portion EL1, and the second portion EL2 and the first portion EL1 have a void in a portion of the surface of the first pattern 131 close to the substrate 103, which exceeds the surface of the conductive portion LP away from the substrate 103.

S104, a second electrode layer 120 is formed over the substrate 103.

Specifically, the second electrode layer 120 is located on a side of the light emitting functional layer EL away from the substrate 103, the sheet resistance of the second electrode layer 120 is greater than that of the conductive portion LP, and the second electrode layer 120 is in contact with the conductive portion LP through a gap.

Next, a method for manufacturing a display panel will be described in detail by taking the example of forming the display panel 100 shown in fig. 21, wherein the method for manufacturing the display panel 100 may include the following steps S201 to S207 with reference to fig. 24.

S201, a pixel circuit layer is formed on the substrate 103.

The pixel circuit layer (not shown) includes a plurality of pixel circuits (not shown), each including a plurality of thin film transistors. Specifically, the type of the thin film transistor is not limited too much, and for example, the thin film transistor may have a top gate structure or a bottom gate structure. Referring to (a) in fig. 25, a method for manufacturing a display panel will be explained by taking a bottom gate structure as an example of a thin film transistor.

And S202, forming a flat layer on the substrate with the pixel circuit layer.

Specifically, referring to (b) in fig. 25, a planarization layer 150 is formed on the substrate 103 where the pixel circuit layer is formed, the planarization layer 150 has a non-uniform thickness, and the surface on the side away from the substrate 103 is a planarization surface. The planarization layer 150 may be formed by adding a cross-linking agent, a surface modifier, a solvent, etc. to polyacrylic acid-epoxy resin, and the planarization layer 150 may be formed by a coating process.

S203, forming a first electrode layer on the substrate on which the planarization layer is formed.

Referring to (c) of fig. 25, forming the first electrode layer 110 on the substrate 103 on which the planarization layer 150 is formed specifically includes: a first material layer (not shown) is formed on the planarization layer 150, and then the first material layer is patterned to form a first electrode layer 110, where the first electrode layer 110 includes a plurality of first electrodes 111. Specifically, the material of the first material layer may be magnesium aluminum alloy (MgAl), lithium aluminum alloy (LiAl), or other alloys, or simple metals such as magnesium (Mg), aluminum (Al), lithium (Li), and silver (Ag), or may be Indium Tin Oxide (ITO), Indium Zinc Oxide (IZO), Indium Gallium Oxide (IGO), Gallium Zinc Oxide (GZO), zinc oxide (ZnO), indium oxide (In2O3), Aluminum Zinc Oxide (AZO), carbon nanotubes, or the like.

Specifically, the patterning process refers to a process capable of forming at least one pattern having a certain shape. For example, a thin film is formed on a substrate by any of a variety of film forming processes such as deposition, coating, sputtering, and the like, and then patterned to form a film layer including at least one pattern, referred to as a pattern layer. The patterning step includes: coating photoresist, exposing, developing, etching, stripping photoresist and the like.

And S204, forming a pixel defining layer on the substrate with the first electrode layer.

Referring to (d) of fig. 25, a pixel defining layer 160 is formed on the substrate 103 on which the first electrode layer 110 is formed, the pixel defining layer 160 may be formed through a patterning process, a plurality of openings 161 are formed on the pixel defining layer 160, and each opening 161 exposes at least a portion of one first electrode 111.

And S205, forming an auxiliary electrode on the substrate with the pixel defining layer.

Referring to (e) in fig. 25, an auxiliary electrode 130 is formed on the substrate 103 on which the pixel defining layer 160 is formed, the auxiliary electrode 130 includes the conductive portion LP and the first pattern 131, the conductive portion LP includes the second pattern 132 and the third pattern 133 which are in contact, and the second pattern 132 is disposed on a side of the third pattern 133 away from the substrate 103. The materials of the first pattern 131, the second pattern 132, and the third pattern 133 may be titanium (Ti), copper (Cu), molybdenum (Mo), tungsten (W), aluminum (Al), silver (Ag), Indium Tin Oxide (ITO), Indium Zinc Oxide (IZO), Indium Gallium Oxide (IGO), Gallium Zinc Oxide (GZO), zinc oxide (ZnO), etc., which are not limited to the above, as long as the first pattern 131 and the conductive portion LP are defined.

Specifically, the following describes a process of manufacturing the auxiliary electrode 130 in which the material of the first pattern 131 and the third pattern 133 is titanium (Ti) and the material of the second pattern 132 is aluminum (Al), and referring to fig. 26, a method of manufacturing the auxiliary electrode 130 may include the following steps S301 to S304.

S301, sequentially stacking a second material layer M2, a third material layer M3 and a fourth material layer M4 on the substrate 103 with the pixel defining layer 160 formed thereon.

Specifically, the material of the second material layer M2 and the fourth material layer M4 is titanium (Ti), and the material of the third material layer M3 is aluminum (Al).

And S302, patterning the second material layer M2, the third material layer M3 and the fourth material layer M4 through a one-time patterning process.

Specifically, referring to (b) of fig. 27, the second material layer M2, the third material layer M3, and the fourth material layer M4 may be patterned through photoresist coating, exposing, developing, and etching processes to form the initial auxiliary electrode 130 'on the pixel defining layer 160 while leaving the photoresist covering the initial auxiliary electrode 130'. For example, the second material layer M2, the third material layer M3, and the fourth material layer M4 are patterned by coating photoresist, exposing, developing, and dry etching processes.

And S303, etching to form the auxiliary electrode 130.

Specifically, referring to (c) of fig. 27, the initial auxiliary electrode 130' may be etched by an etching process to form the auxiliary electrode 130. For example, the initial auxiliary electrode 130 'is etched by a wet etching process to form the auxiliary electrode 130, and the wet etching process may use an alkaline etching solution, which does not react with the second material layer M2 and the fourth material layer M4, so as to avoid damaging the second material layer M2 and the fourth material layer M4 in the initial auxiliary electrode 130 on the premise that the etching of the third material layer M3 in the initial auxiliary electrode 130' is achieved.

And S304, stripping the photoresist.

S206, a light-emitting functional layer EL is formed on the substrate 103 on which the auxiliary electrode 130 is formed.

The material of the luminescent functional layer EL is selected as described above, and the preparation process of the luminescent functional layer EL can adopt an evaporation process or an inkjet printing process. Referring to (f) of fig. 25, the light emitting function layer EL includes a first portion EL1 and a second portion EL2, the first portion EL1 is overlaid on the first pattern 131, the second portion EL2 is a portion of the light emitting function layer EL other than the first portion EL1, and the second portion EL2 has a void at an excess position from the first portion EL 1.

The light emitting functional layer EL may include one or more of an electron transport layer, an electron injection layer, a hole transport layer, and a hole injection layer in addition to the organic light emitting layer. At least one of the light emitting functional layers EL may cover a display area of the display panel. For example, when the organic light emitting layer of the light emitting functional layer EL is made of the same material and the light emitted by the light emitting functional layer EL is made of the same color, the plurality of film layers included in the light emitting functional layer EL may cover the display area of the display panel; when the light colors emitted by the light emitting functional layer EL portions corresponding to different light emitting regions are different, the electron transport layer, the electron injection layer, the hole transport layer, and the hole injection layer included in the light emitting functional layer EL may cover the display region of the display panel, and the organic light emitting layer emitting the same color light only covers a partial region of the display region.

S207, the second electrode layer 120 is formed over the substrate 103 having the light-emitting functional layer EL formed thereon.

Referring to (g) of fig. 25, the second electrode layer 120 may cover a display region of the display panel. The material of the second electrode layer 120 is as described above, and will not be described herein. The second electrode layer 120 may be formed by any of a variety of film forming processes such as deposition, coating, sputtering, and the like.

When the first electrode 111 and the second electrode layer 120 are provided as above, each light-emitting device L (i.e., one light-emitting region EP) includes a portion where orthographic projections of one first electrode 111, a portion of the second electrode layer 120, and a portion of the light-emitting functional layer EL on the substrate 103 overlap each other.

Exemplarily, referring to (h) in fig. 25, a film layer structure such as an encapsulation layer 140, a touch layer 180, a polarizing layer 190, a black matrix BM, a color filter CF, and a cover plate CP may also be formed on the substrate 103 on which the second electrode layer 120 is formed, resulting in the display panel 100 shown in fig. 21.

The materials and shapes of the layers and the positional relationship between the layers obtained by the above preparation method can be obtained by referring to the above described embodiments of the display panel, and the same technical effects can be produced, which are not described herein again.

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

1. A display panel having a plurality of light emitting areas, comprising:

a substrate;

a first electrode layer disposed on the substrate, the first electrode layer including a plurality of first electrodes, each first electrode being disposed corresponding to one light-emitting region;

the auxiliary electrode and the first electrode layer are positioned on the same side of the substrate, the auxiliary electrode comprises a conductive part and a first pattern which are in contact, the first pattern is positioned on one side, away from the substrate, of the conductive part, the orthographic projection of the first pattern on the substrate is positioned between at least two adjacent light-emitting areas, and a part of the surface, close to the substrate, of the first pattern exceeds the surface, away from the substrate, of the conductive part;

a light-emitting functional layer on a side of the first electrode layer and the auxiliary electrode away from the substrate, the light-emitting functional layer including a first portion and a second portion, the first portion covering the first pattern, the second portion being a portion of the light-emitting functional layer other than the first portion, the second portion and the first portion having a gap at the position of the excess;

the second electrode layer is positioned on one side, far away from the substrate, of the light-emitting functional layer, the square resistance of the second electrode layer is larger than that of the conductive part, and the second electrode layer is in contact with the conductive part through the gap.

2. The display panel according to claim 1,

the shape of a portion of the surface of the first pattern close to the substrate beyond the surface of the conductive portion away from the substrate is annular.

3. The display panel according to claim 1,

the material of the first pattern is a conductive material.

4. The display panel according to claim 3,

the sheet resistance of the first pattern is smaller than that of the second electrode layer.

5. The display panel according to claim 3 or 4,

the second electrode layer is also in contact with the first pattern through the gap.

6. The display panel according to claim 1,

the conductive portion has stronger reducibility than the first pattern.

7. The display panel according to claim 1,

the conductive part comprises a second pattern and a third pattern which are in contact with each other, and the third pattern is positioned on one side, close to the substrate, of the second pattern;

the second pattern and the third pattern are made of conductive materials, and the square resistance of the second pattern and the square resistance of the third pattern are both smaller than that of the second electrode layer;

the second electrode layer is in contact with at least one of the second pattern and the third pattern through the gap.

8. The display panel according to claim 7,

the second pattern is more reductive than the first pattern and the third pattern.

9. The display panel according to claim 7,

one of the first pattern, the second pattern, and the third pattern, which has the smallest resistivity, has the largest thickness.

10. The display panel according to claim 9,

the second pattern has a thickness greater than the first and third patterns.

11. The display panel according to claim 7,

the third pattern and the plurality of first electrodes are disposed in the same layer.

12. The display panel according to claim 1,

the auxiliary electrode is in a grid shape, and one or at least two first electrodes are arranged in one mesh of the auxiliary electrode.

13. The display panel according to claim 12,

at least one breakpoint is arranged on the auxiliary electrode.

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

and the conductive pattern is arranged on the same layer as the first electrode, is positioned on one side of the conductive part close to the substrate, and is coupled with the conductive part.

15. The display panel according to claim 14,

the surface of the auxiliary electrode close to the substrate is in contact with the surface of the conductive pattern far away from the substrate.

16. A display device comprising the display panel according to any one of claims 1 to 15.

17. The display device according to claim 16, further comprising:

and the optical sensor is arranged on one side of the display panel, which is deviated from the light emergent surface.

18. A method for manufacturing a display panel having a plurality of light-emitting regions, comprising:

forming a first electrode layer on a substrate, the first electrode layer including a plurality of first electrodes, each first electrode being disposed corresponding to one light-emitting region;

forming an auxiliary electrode on the substrate, wherein the auxiliary electrode and the first electrode layer are positioned on the same side of the substrate, the auxiliary electrode comprises a conductive part and a first pattern which are in contact, the first pattern is positioned on one side, away from the substrate, of the conductive part, the orthographic projection of the first pattern on the substrate is positioned between at least two adjacent light-emitting areas, and a part of the surface, close to the substrate, of the first pattern exceeds the surface, away from the substrate, of the conductive part;

forming a light-emitting function layer on the substrate, the light-emitting function layer being located on a side of the first electrode layer and the auxiliary electrode away from the substrate, the light-emitting function layer including a first portion and a second portion, the first portion being covered on the first pattern, the second portion being a portion of the light-emitting function layer other than the first portion, the second portion and the first portion having a gap at the excess position;

and forming a second electrode layer on the substrate, wherein the second electrode layer is positioned on one side of the light-emitting functional layer far away from the substrate, the square resistance of the second electrode layer is greater than that of the conductive part, and the second electrode layer is in contact with the conductive part through the gap.