CN209859955U - Display panel and display device - Google Patents

Abstract

The application relates to a display panel, comprising: a thin film transistor provided over the substrate; a passivation layer disposed on the thin film transistor and having a contact hole exposing the drain electrode of the thin film transistor; the pixel electrode is arranged on the passivation layer and comprises a plurality of sub-electrodes which are isolated from each other, and the plurality of sub-electrodes of the pixel electrode are connected with the drain electrode of the thin film transistor through the same contact hole; and the sub-pixels are arranged on the plurality of sub-electrodes of the pixel electrode. Therefore, as the plurality of sub-electrodes of each pixel electrode are connected with the drain electrode through the contact holes, the sub-electrodes can be disconnected with other sub-electrodes only by cutting off the connection between the sub-electrodes corresponding to the foreign matters and the contact holes, so that the short circuit between the pixel electrodes and the cathode is eliminated, the regions of the sub-pixels except the foreign matters can normally emit light, the dark spot occurrence rate is reduced, and the display quality and the yield are improved. A display device is also provided.

Description

Display panel and display device

Technical Field

The utility model relates to a show technical field, especially relate to a display panel and display device.

Background

With the development of technologies such as big data, cloud computing, mobile internet and the like, people have entered the intelligent era, and as an important window for man-machine interaction in the intelligent era, a display panel is also undergoing a significant revolution. Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) display panels have the advantages of thin thickness, self-luminous performance, low power consumption, etc., and have become the flat panel display devices that are considered to have the most potential for development after thin film transistor liquid crystal displays. However, the surface or the inside of the display panel is inevitably contaminated by foreign matters such as dust during the production process of the OLED display panel, so that the quality of the display panel is degraded.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

Accordingly, there is a need for a display panel and a display device to reduce the influence of foreign matters on the quality of the display panel during the production process.

According to an aspect of the present application, there is provided a display panel including:

a thin film transistor provided over the substrate;

a passivation layer disposed on the thin film transistor and configured to have a contact hole exposing a drain electrode of the thin film transistor;

the pixel electrode is arranged on the passivation layer and comprises a plurality of sub-electrodes which are isolated from each other, and the plurality of sub-electrodes of the pixel electrode are connected with the drain electrode of the thin film transistor through the same contact hole;

and the sub-pixels are arranged on the plurality of sub-electrodes of the pixel electrode.

In the display panel, each pixel electrode comprises a plurality of sub-electrodes, and the plurality of sub-electrodes are connected with the drain electrode of the thin film transistor through the contact hole. Therefore, when a foreign object falls on a sub-pixel, a corresponding one of the pixel electrodes is short-circuited with the cathode, that is, the pixel electrode is short-circuited with the cathode (since the sub-electrodes of one pixel electrode are all connected to the same contact hole), so that the sub-pixel cannot emit light, and a dark spot is formed. The sub-electrodes can be disconnected from other sub-electrodes only by cutting off the connection between the sub-electrodes corresponding to the foreign matters and the contact holes (for example, the connection between the sub-electrodes and the contact holes can be cut off by cutting off the wiring by laser), so that the short circuit between the pixel electrodes and the cathode is eliminated, the regions of the sub-pixels except the foreign matters can normally emit light, the dark spot occurrence rate is reduced, and the display quality and the yield are improved.

In an embodiment, the sub-pixels include a plurality of grandchild pixels insulated and isolated from each other, the grandchild pixels correspond to the sub-electrodes one by one, and each grandchild pixel is disposed on a corresponding one of the sub-electrodes. When the foreign matter falls into one of the grandchild pixels, the organic light-emitting layer of the grandchild pixel is damaged, so that the child electrode below the grandchild pixel and the cathode above the organic light-emitting layer are short-circuited, and the whole child pixel cannot emit light. At this time, the connection between the sub-electrode and the contact hole is simply cut off to disconnect the sub-electrode from the other sub-electrodes, and the grandchild pixel having the foreign matter dropped thereon cannot emit light, while the other grandchild pixels can normally emit light. Therefore, the luminous capacity of the sub-pixels is not influenced, the luminous capacity of each pixel unit is not influenced, and the influence of tiny foreign matters such as dust on the luminous capacities of the sub-pixels and the pixel units tends to be minimized, so that the display quality and the yield are improved.

In an embodiment, the display panel further includes at least one insulating wall, and each insulating wall includes a first insulating portion disposed on the passivation layer between two adjacent sub-electrodes to separate and insulate the plurality of sub-electrodes of the pixel electrode from each other.

In an embodiment, each of the insulating walls further includes a second insulating portion disposed on the first insulating portion, and each of the second insulating portions is located between two adjacent grandchild pixels to separate and insulate grandchild pixels of the child pixels from each other.

In one embodiment, the display panel further includes a pixel defining layer on the pixel electrode;

the pixel defining layer is provided with a plurality of sub-pixel openings, each sub-pixel opening is divided into a plurality of grandchild pixel openings by the second insulating portion, and each grandchild pixel opening exposes at least part of one corresponding sub-electrode.

In one embodiment, the shape and size of the grandchild pixel opening in each of the child pixel openings are the same.

In an embodiment, the second insulating portion has a first cross section and a second cross section parallel to the substrate in order in a direction away from the substrate;

the orthographic projection of the first cross section on the substrate is positioned in the orthographic projection range of the second cross section on the substrate.

In one embodiment, a cross-sectional shape of the second insulating portion in a direction perpendicular to the substrate and perpendicular to an extending direction of the second insulating portion is an inverted trapezoid;

wherein an extending direction of the second insulating portion is parallel to the substrate.

In one embodiment, the insulating wall is made of the same material as the pixel defining layer; or

The insulating wall is made of a different material from the pixel defining layer.

According to another aspect of the present application, there is provided a display device including the display panel as described in the above embodiments.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a display panel according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a top view of a sub-pixel region of the display panel shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a display panel according to another embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a display panel according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

In order to facilitate understanding of the present invention, the present invention will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. Preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown in the drawings. The invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being "secured to" another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may also be present. When an element is referred to as being "connected" to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or intervening elements may also be present. The terms "vertical," "horizontal," "left," "right," and the like as used herein are for illustrative purposes only.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The terminology used in the description of the invention herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

The OLED display panel generally includes an array substrate, an anode (i.e., a pixel electrode) disposed on the array substrate, an OLED light emitting device, and a cathode. The light emitting principle of the OLED is that semiconductor materials and organic light emitting materials emit light by carrier injection and recombination under the driving of an electric field. Under the drive of a certain voltage, electrons and holes are injected from a cathode and an anode respectively and migrate to an OLED light-emitting device, and are recombined in the OLED light-emitting device to form excitons and excite light-emitting molecules, and the excitons relax through radiation to emit visible light.

Each sub-pixel is controlled to emit light or not by a thin film transistor in the array substrate, each sub-pixel corresponds to an anode, and the whole surface of the cathode covers the pixel definition layer to provide electrons for the OLED light-emitting device. The OLED display panel has been found to have a small separation between the anode and cathode, typically a few hundred nanometers. As described in the background art, the surface or the inside of the display panel is inevitably contaminated by the dust and foreign matters during the production process of the display panel, so that the quality of the display panel is degraded. When some tiny foreign matters enter the process, the short circuit between the anode and the cathode is easily caused, so that the whole sub-pixel is in a dark state, namely, a dark spot on the OLED panel is caused, the display quality is influenced, and the yield is greatly reduced.

It is easy to understand that when a foreign object falls in the sub-pixel, the anode and the cathode are short-circuited, thereby forming a dark spot. In order to repair the sub-pixel, a portion of the sub-pixel where foreign substances have fallen needs to be cut and separated so that other portions of the sub-pixel can normally emit light. However, the sub-pixel region includes a thin film transistor, a capacitor, a wiring, and the like. Therefore, when the sub-pixels are cut by laser, the structures such as the thin film transistor, the capacitor and the wiring are easily damaged, other bad risks are increased, the accuracy of optical image identification is limited, and the defects cannot be effectively avoided.

To solve the above problems, the present application provides a display panel that can preferably solve the above problems.

Before the present application is explained in detail, some contents in the present application are explained first to facilitate a clearer understanding of the technical solution of the present invention.

An array substrate: that is, a Thin-film transistor (TFT) array substrate is obtained by forming at least a TFT array on a substrate. The substrate may be a rigid substrate (e.g., a glass substrate) or a flexible substrate (e.g., a substrate formed of PI material), and is not limited herein.

The array substrate has a plurality of sub-pixel regions, for example, in some embodiments, the array substrate has a first sub-pixel region emitting red light, a second sub-pixel region emitting blue light, and a third sub-pixel region emitting green light, and a set of the first sub-pixel region, the second sub-pixel region, and the third sub-pixel region may constitute one pixel region. It is understood that in other embodiments, each display region may also include other sub-pixel regions, which are not limited herein, and may also include a fourth sub-pixel emitting white light, for example.

Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a display panel according to an embodiment of the present application. Fig. 2 illustrates a top view of one sub-pixel region of the display panel shown in fig. 1. For the convenience of description, only the portions relevant to the present application are shown in the drawings.

Referring to fig. 1 and fig. 2, a display panel 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a substrate 11, a thin film transistor 12, a passivation layer 13, a pixel electrode 14, and a sub-pixel 15.

The thin film transistor 12 is provided on the substrate 11. A passivation layer 13 is provided on the thin film transistor 12, and the passivation layer 13 is configured as a contact hole that specifically exposes the drain electrode of the thin film transistor 12. The pixel electrode 14 is disposed on the passivation layer 13, the pixel electrode 14 includes a plurality of sub-electrodes 141 (i.e., two or more) separated from each other, and the plurality of sub-electrodes 141 are connected to the drain electrode 121 of the thin film transistor 12 through the same contact hole 131. The sub-pixels 15 are provided on the plurality of sub-electrodes 141 of the pixel electrode 14.

In the display panel, the plurality of sub-electrodes 141 of the pixel electrode 14 are all connected to the drain electrode 121 of the thin film transistor 12 through the same contact hole 131, and the thin film transistor 12 controls the sub-pixel 15 disposed on the pixel electrode 14 to emit light or not. When a foreign object 100 (see fig. 2) falls on the sub-pixel 15, a corresponding one of the pixel electrodes 14 is shorted to the cathode, that is, the pixel electrode 14 is shorted to the cathode (since the sub-electrodes 141 of one pixel electrode 14 are all connected to the same contact hole 131), so that the sub-pixel 15 cannot emit light, and a dark spot is formed. The sub-electrode 141 can be disconnected from other sub-electrodes 141 and the drain 121 by cutting off the connection between the sub-electrode 141 and the contact hole 131 corresponding to the foreign matter (for example, the connection between the sub-electrode 141 and the contact hole 131 can be cut off by cutting off the wiring by laser), so that the short circuit between the pixel electrode 14 and the cathode is eliminated, the region of the sub-pixel 15 except the foreign matter can normally emit light, the dark spot occurrence rate is reduced, and the display quality and yield are improved.

It should be noted that the sub-electrode 141 can extend to the contact hole 131 through the connection trace d (see fig. 2), and further electrically connected to the drain electrode 121 of the thin film transistor 12. Thus, when a foreign material causes one of the sub-electrodes 141 and the cathode to be short-circuited, so that the whole sub-pixel 15 cannot emit light, and a dark spot is formed, the corresponding connection trace d can be cut off by laser, so that the sub-electrode 141 is disconnected from the other sub-electrodes 141 and the drain 121. Therefore, the sub-pixel region corresponding to the other sub-electrode 141 (i.e., the region of the sub-pixel 15 other than the foreign substance) can emit light normally, and the dark spot is eliminated.

The plurality of sub-electrodes 141 of the pixel electrode 14 may be connected to the source of the thin film transistor 12 through the same contact hole 131. At this time, the contact hole 131 of the passivation layer 13 serves to expose the source electrode of the thin film transistor 12.

It should be noted that, in some embodiments, the pixel electrode 14 (i.e., the anode) may be a transparent electrode, a semitransparent electrode, or a reflective electrode. For example, the pixel electrode 14 may include Indium Tin Oxide (ITO), Indium Zinc Oxide (IZO), zinc oxide (ZnO), indium oxide (In)₂O₃) At least one of Indium Gallium Oxide (IGO) or zinc aluminum oxide (AZO). In other embodiments, the pixel electrode 14 may also be a reflective film formed of Ag, Al, Pt, Au, Ni, Nd, Ir, Cr or a compound thereof and a transmissive electrode layer formed on the reflective film, and the transmissive electrode layer may include Indium Tin Oxide (ITO), Indium Zinc Oxide (IZO), zinc oxide (ZnO), indium oxide (In)₂O₃) At least one of Indium Gallium Oxide (IGO) or zinc aluminum oxide (AZO). The cathode 18 disposed opposite to the pixel electrode 14 can be a transmissive electrode, and can be made of metal with low power function, such as silver, lithium, magnesium, calcium, strontium, aluminum, indium, or metal compound or alloy material. When some tiny foreign matters such as dust enter the process, the organic light emitting layer is damaged, so that the cathode 18 and the anode (i.e. the pixel electrode 14) of the sub-pixel 15 are short-circuited and burned, and the sub-pixel 15 cannot emit light and has dark spots.

It should be noted that each sub-pixel 15 is disposed in a corresponding sub-pixel region and electrically connected to the pixel electrode 14, so that each sub-pixel 15 is driven by the driving circuit (i.e., the thin film transistor 12) to display.

In the embodiment of the present application, each sub-pixel 15 includes a plurality of grandchild pixels 151 insulated and isolated from each other. The plurality of grandchild pixels 151 of each sub-pixel 15 correspond to the plurality of sub-electrodes 141 of each pixel electrode 14 one to one. Each of the grandchild pixels 151 is disposed on a corresponding one of the child electrodes 141. For example, each pixel electrode 14 includes two sub-electrodes 141, and the two sub-electrodes 141 are symmetrically arranged in the sub-pixel region. Each sub-pixel 15 also includes two grandchild pixels 151, and the two grandchild pixels 151 are respectively disposed on the two sub-electrodes 141.

It is easily understood that, when the foreign substance 100 falls into one of the grandchild pixels 151, the organic light emitting layer of the grandchild pixel 151 is broken so that the child electrode 141 under the grandchild pixel 151 and the cathode 18 above the grandchild pixel 151 are short-circuited, resulting in that the entire child pixel 15 cannot emit light. At this time, the connection between the sub-electrode 141 and the contact hole 131 is simply cut off to disconnect the sub-electrode 141 from the other sub-electrodes 141, and the grandchild pixel 151 having the foreign substance 100 dropped thereon cannot emit light, while the other grandchild pixels 151 can normally emit light. In the embodiment shown in fig. 2, the foreign substance 100 falls into the left-side grandpixel 151, and the organic light emitting layer of the left-side grandpixel 151 is broken so that the left-side sub-electrode 141 and the cathode 18 are short-circuited, resulting in that the entire sub-pixel 15 cannot emit light. At this time, the left sub-electrode 141 is disconnected from the other sub-electrodes 141 and the drain 121 by simply cutting the connection lines between the left sub-electrode 141 and the contact hole 131, the left sub-pixel 151 cannot emit light, and the right sub-pixel 151 can normally emit light.

Therefore, the light emitting capability of the sub-pixel 15 is not affected, and the light emitting capability of each pixel unit is not affected, so that the influence of dust and other tiny foreign matters on the light emitting capability of the sub-pixel 15 and the pixel unit tends to be minimized, and the display quality and the yield are improved.

Each of the grandchild pixels 151 includes at least an organic light emitting layer, which may be formed of a low molecular organic material or a polymer organic material. In some embodiments, the grandchild pixel 151 may further include functional film layers such as a hole transport layer, a hole injection layer, an electron transport layer, and an electron injection layer. In an embodiment, the hole injection layer may be made of a radical emitting material, so that the hole injection layer, the sub-electrode 141 and the hole transport layer have better energy level matching, thereby effectively improving the hole injection capability and further improving the performance of the organic electroluminescent display panel. Of course, the material of the hole injection layer includes, but is not limited to, a radical emitting material, such as HAT-CN. The material of the electron injection layer can be lithium fluoride, lithium oxide, lithium boron oxide, potassium silicate, cesium carbonate, and metal acetates.

In some embodiments, the display panel further includes at least one insulating wall 17, and each insulating wall 17 includes a first insulating portion 171 disposed on the passivation layer 13 between two adjacent sub-electrodes 141 to separate and insulate the plurality of sub-electrodes 141 of each pixel electrode 14 from each other. That is, the plurality of sub-electrodes 141 of each pixel electrode 14 are separated and insulated from each other by the first insulating portion 171 of the corresponding insulating wall 17. In this way, the sub-electrodes 141 of each pixel electrode 14 are isolated from each other, and when one of the sub-electrodes 141 is disconnected from the contact hole 131 to eliminate the dark spot phenomenon caused by the foreign matter, the sub-electrode 141 is disconnected (i.e., insulated) from the other sub-electrodes 141 and the drain 121, so as to ensure that the sub-pixel 151 corresponding to the other sub-electrode 141 can normally emit light.

In an embodiment, each of the insulating walls 17 further includes a second insulating portion 172 disposed on the first insulating portion 171, and each of the second insulating portions 172 is located between two adjacent grandchild pixels 151, so as to separate and insulate the grandchild pixels 151 of each of the child pixels 15 from each other. That is, the plurality of grandchild pixels 151 of each of the child pixels 15 are separated and insulated from each other by the second insulating portion 172 of the corresponding insulating wall 17. It should be understood that the grandchild pixels 151 in each sub-pixel 15 emit light of the same color, and the insulating wall 17 is provided between the passivation layer 13 and the cathode electrode 18, so that the pixel electrode 14 can be divided into a plurality of sub-electrodes 141, and the sub-pixels 15 can be divided into a plurality of grandchild pixels 151. It should also be understood that the insulating wall 17 may function as an insulating spacer, and as an embodiment, the insulating wall 17 is an insulating wall 17 of an organic material, and specifically, the organic material exemplarily includes at least one of organic materials such as polyimide, polyamide, benzocyclobutene, acryl resin, silicone, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), or phenol resin.

In some embodiments, the display panel 10 further includes a pixel defining layer 16 disposed on the pixel electrode 14, the pixel defining layer 16 has a plurality of sub-pixel openings, the second insulating portion 172 of the insulating wall 17 divides each sub-pixel opening into a plurality of grandchild pixel openings, such that each of the grandchild pixel openings exposes at least a portion of a corresponding one of the sub-electrodes 141, and the grandchild pixel 151 is disposed in each grandchild pixel opening. Specifically, the pixel defining layer 16 is formed on the passivation layer 13 and exposes a portion of the pixel electrode 14, for example, the pixel defining layer 16 wraps the side surface and a portion of the upper surface of the pixel electrode 14, so as to expose a portion of the upper surface of each sub-electrode 141 of the pixel electrode 14, and the organic light emitting layer of the sub-pixel 151 is in contact with the corresponding sub-electrode 141 to achieve electrical connection. The pixel defining layer 16 is an organic material layer, for example, the pixel defining layer 16 includes at least one of polyimide, polyamide, benzocyclobutene, acrylic resin, silicone, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), or phenolic resin.

Each of the grandchild pixel opening regions is defined as a grandchild pixel 151, that is, a light emitting unit is disposed in each grandchild pixel opening, and a plurality of light emitting units located in the same child pixel opening emit light of the same color. Alternatively, each sub-pixel opening may be rectangular in shape, the second insulating portion 172 of the insulating wall 17 divides the sub-pixel opening into two left and right portions, and each of the sub-pixel openings is also rectangular in shape. It is understood that when the organic light emitting layer of the grandchild pixel 151 is contaminated by foreign matters, the shapes and sizes of the grandchild pixel openings within the same sub-pixel opening are consistent as a preferred embodiment in order to ensure that the light emitting performance of the sub-pixel 15 is not affected. Further, all the grandchild pixel openings of the plurality of child pixel openings may have the same shape and size, and thus, it is further ensured that the damage of the grandchild pixel 151 does not affect the light emitting performance of the child pixel 15.

It is understood that the shapes of the sub-pixel openings and the shapes of the grandchild pixel openings may be other shapes, for example, the shapes of the grandchild pixel openings in the same sub-pixel opening may also be circular, triangular, elliptical, and the like. Similarly, the shapes and sizes of the grandchild pixel openings in the same child pixel opening may also be different, and are not limited herein.

In some embodiments, the second insulating portion 172 has a first cross section a and a second cross section b parallel to the substrate 11 in sequence in a direction away from the substrate 11, and an orthogonal projection of the first cross section a on the substrate 11 is located within an orthogonal projection range of the second cross section b on the substrate 11. It will be readily appreciated that, since the second insulating portion 172 is of a three-dimensional structure, in a section thereof parallel to the substrate 11 (i.e., a cross section), positions of different heights may have different widths, but the widths and areas of projections of the cross sections of different heights (different distances away from the substrate 11) on the substrate 11 are unique. The orthographic projection of the first cross section a on the substrate 11 is located in the orthographic projection range of the second cross section b on the substrate 11, namely the second cross section b covers the first cross section a, and the area of the second cross section b is larger than that of the first cross section a. In this way, at least a portion of the second insulating portion 172 has a tendency to gradually increase in width or have a step in a direction away from the substrate 11, and during the process of vertically evaporating the organic light emitting material downward into the grandchild pixel opening by the evaporation source, the evaporated organic light emitting material may adhere to the area of the grandchild pixel opening and to the side of the second insulating portion 172 away from the substrate 11. Since at least a portion of the second insulating portion 172 has a tendency of gradually increasing in width or has a step, the organic light emitting material evaporated from top to bottom cannot be attached to the sidewall of the second insulating portion 172 with a high probability or continuously, so that the second insulating portion 172 can insulate and isolate the plurality of third-generation pixels 151.

Fig. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a display panel in another embodiment. Fig. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a display panel according to still another embodiment. For the purpose of illustration, the drawings show only the structures relevant to the present application.

Illustratively, as shown in fig. 1, in some embodiments, the extending direction of the second insulating portion 172 is parallel to the substrate 11, and the cross-sectional shape of the second insulating portion 172 in the extending direction perpendicular to the substrate 11 and perpendicular to the second insulating portion 172 is an inverted trapezoid. As shown in fig. 3, in other embodiments, the cross-sectional shape of the second insulating portion 172 is circular or truncated cone in a direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the second insulating portion 172 and perpendicular to the substrate 11. As shown in fig. 4, in still other embodiments, the second insulating portion 172 has a plurality of layers, a step is formed between at least two adjacent layers, and the width of the bottom surface of the film layer forming the step and located on the upper layer is greater than the width of the top surface of the film layer forming the step and located on the lower layer. In some embodiments described above, the second insulating portions 172 each have a first cross section a and a second cross section b with different areas in a direction perpendicular to and away from the substrate 11, and the area of the first cross section a is larger than that of the second cross section b. Therefore, the organic light emitting material evaporated from top to bottom may not be attached to the sidewalls of the second insulating portion 172 with a high probability or continuously, thereby ensuring that the second insulating portion 172 insulates and separates the plurality of sub-pixels 151.

In some embodiments, the insulating wall 17 is located at the same layer as the pixel defining layer 16. Specifically, the insulating wall 17 and the pixel defining layer 16 may be made of the same material, for example, the insulating wall 17 and the pixel defining layer 16 are made of at least one organic material such as polyimide, polyamide, benzocyclobutene, acrylic resin, silicone, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), or phenol resin. Therefore, the process is simplified, and the processing is convenient.

It is understood that in other embodiments, the material of the insulating wall 17 and the pixel defining layer 16 may be different, and is not limited herein.

An embodiment of the present application further provides a manufacturing method of a display panel, including:

step S110: providing a substrate 11;

taking a flexible display panel as an example, the substrate 11 is formed on a carrier substrate. The substrate 11 is optionally formed of an organic polymer, silicon nitride, and silicon oxide, for example, the organic polymer may be one of a polyimide substrate, a polyamide substrate, a polycarbonate substrate, a polyphenylene ether sulfone substrate, and the like. In some embodiments, the substrate 11 may be obtained by coating a polyimide glue solution on a carrier substrate, and then curing the polyimide. Taking a rigid display panel as an example, the substrate 11 may also be a glass substrate.

Step S120: forming an array of thin film transistors 12 on a substrate 11;

the thin film transistor may control light emission of each sub-pixel. The thin film transistor may include a semiconductor layer, a gate electrode, a source electrode, and a drain electrode. The semiconductor layer may be formed of an amorphous silicon layer, a metal oxide, or a polysilicon layer, or may be formed of an organic semiconductor material. In some embodiments, the semiconductor layer includes a channel region and source and drain regions doped with a dopant.

The semiconductor layer may be covered with a gate insulating layer, and the gate electrode may be disposed on the gate insulating layer. In general, the gate insulating layer may cover the entire surface of the substrate 11. In other embodiments, the gate insulating layer may be formed by patterning. The gate insulating layer may be formed of silicon oxide, silicon nitride, or other insulating organic or inorganic materials in consideration of adhesion to adjacent layers, formability of stack, and surface flatness. The gate electrode may be covered by an interlayer insulating layer formed of silicon oxide, silicon nitride, and/or other suitable insulating organic or inorganic materials.

Step S130: a passivation layer 13 is formed over the array of thin film transistors 12. Removing a portion of the passivation layer 13 to form a contact hole 131 for exposing the drain electrode 121 of the thin film transistor 12;

step S140: forming a pixel electrode 14 on the passivation layer 13;

specifically, the pixel electrodes 14 are plural and arranged in an array. Of course, each of the pixel electrodes 14 includes a plurality of sub-electrodes 141, and the plurality of sub-electrodes 141 of each of the pixel electrodes 14 are connected to the drain electrode 121 of a corresponding one of the thin film transistors 12 through the contact hole 131;

the pixel electrode 14 may include Indium Tin Oxide (ITO), Indium Zinc Oxide (IZO), zinc oxide (ZnO), indium oxide (In)₂O₃) At least one of Indium Gallium Oxide (IGO) or zinc aluminum oxide (AZO).

Step S150: a pixel defining layer 16 is formed on the pixel electrode 14 to form a plurality of sub-pixel openings and to form at least one partition wall. Each of the isolation walls includes a first insulating portion 171 formed on the passivation layer 13 and a second insulating portion 172 formed on the first insulating portion 171. Also, the first insulating portion 171 is located between two adjacent sub-electrodes 141 of each pixel electrode 14, and is used for separating the plurality of sub-electrodes 141 of each pixel electrode 14 from each other. The second insulating part 172 is located between two adjacent grandchild pixels 151 of each sub-pixel 15, and separates the grandchild pixels 151 of each sub-pixel 15 from each other;

in some embodiments, the pixel defining layer 16 may be formed on the passivation layer 13 in a whole layer and covers the pixel electrode 14, and then an etching process is used to etch a plurality of sub-pixel openings and simultaneously etch the insulating wall 17 (including the first insulating portion and the second insulating portion) that separates the sub-pixel openings into a plurality of sub-pixel openings.

In other embodiments, the pixel defining layer 16 may be formed on the substrate 11, the pixel defining layer 16 has a plurality of sub-pixel openings, and the pixel defining layer 16 covers the side surfaces of the pixel electrode 14, so as to expose the upper surface of the pixel electrode 14. The aforementioned insulating walls 17 are then formed using an electrospinning process or a gradient concentration process to partition the sub-pixel openings into a plurality of sub-pixel openings.

It should be understood that the second insulating portion 172 of the insulating wall 17 may be formed in a cross-sectional shape of a circle in a direction perpendicular to the substrate 11 using an electrospinning process, and in a direction perpendicular to the insulating wall 17. The second insulating portion 172 of the insulating wall 17 may be formed to have an inverted trapezoidal cross-sectional shape in a direction perpendicular to the substrate 11, for example, in a direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the insulating wall 17 using the gradient concentration process. It should be further understood that the pixel defining layer 16 and the insulating wall 17 may also be fabricated in multiple layers, and the second insulating portion 172 having an inverted trapezoid shape or a step shape is fabricated by using a photolithography process, which is not limited herein.

It is understood that the electrospinning process and the gradient concentration process are well known to those skilled in the art, and thus, detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted.

Step S160: forming an organic light-emitting layer in the openings of the grandchild pixels;

specifically, the organic light emitting layers formed in the sub-pixel openings are separated and insulated from each other by the second insulating portions 172 of the corresponding insulating walls 17, and each of the organic light emitting layers located in the grandchild pixel openings constitutes a grandchild pixel 151.

Step 170: forming a cathode 18 on the pixel defining layer 16;

specifically, the cathode 18 may entirely cover the pixel defining layer 16 to be electrically connected to the upper surface of the organic light emitting layer.

Based on the display panel 10, embodiments of the present application further provide a display device, in some embodiments, the display device may be a display terminal, such as a tablet computer, and in other embodiments, the display device may also be a mobile communication terminal, such as a mobile phone terminal.

In some embodiments, the display device includes a display panel 10 and a control unit for transmitting a display signal to the display panel 10.

The technical features of the embodiments described above may be arbitrarily combined, and for the sake of brevity, all possible combinations of the technical features in the embodiments described above are not described, but should be considered as being within the scope of the present specification as long as there is no contradiction between the combinations of the technical features.

The above-mentioned embodiments only represent some embodiments of the present invention, and the description thereof is specific and detailed, but not to be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention. It should be noted that, for those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of the present invention, several variations and modifications can be made, which are within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention should be subject to the appended claims.

Claims (10)

1. A display panel, comprising:

a thin film transistor provided over the substrate;

a passivation layer disposed on the thin film transistor and configured to have a contact hole exposing a drain electrode of the thin film transistor;

the pixel electrode is arranged on the passivation layer and comprises a plurality of sub-electrodes which are isolated from each other, and the plurality of sub-electrodes of the pixel electrode are connected with the drain electrode of the thin film transistor through the same contact hole;

and the sub-pixels are arranged on the plurality of sub-electrodes of the pixel electrode.

2. The display panel according to claim 1, wherein the sub-pixels include a plurality of grandchild pixels insulated and isolated from each other, the plurality of grandchild pixels are in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of sub-electrodes, and each grandchild pixel is provided on a corresponding one of the sub-electrodes.

3. The display panel of claim 2, further comprising at least one insulating wall, wherein each insulating wall comprises a first insulating portion disposed on the passivation layer between two adjacent sub-electrodes to separate and insulate the sub-electrodes of the pixel electrode from each other.

4. The display panel according to claim 3, wherein each of the insulating walls further includes a second insulating portion disposed on the first insulating portion, and each of the second insulating portions is located between two adjacent grandchild pixels to separate and insulate grandchild pixels of the child pixels from each other.

5. The display panel according to claim 4, further comprising a pixel defining layer on the pixel electrode;

the pixel defining layer is provided with a plurality of sub-pixel openings, each sub-pixel opening is divided into a plurality of grandchild pixel openings by the second insulating portion, and each grandchild pixel opening exposes at least part of one corresponding sub-electrode.

6. The display panel according to claim 5, wherein the grandchild pixel opening in each of the sub-pixel openings has the same shape and size.

7. The display panel according to claim 4, wherein the second insulating portion has a first cross section and a second cross section parallel to the substrate in order in a direction away from the substrate;

the orthographic projection of the first cross section on the substrate is positioned in the orthographic projection range of the second cross section on the substrate.

8. The display panel according to claim 7, wherein a cross-sectional shape of the second insulating portion in an extending direction perpendicular to the substrate and perpendicular to the second insulating portion is an inverted trapezoid;

wherein an extending direction of the second insulating portion is parallel to the substrate.

9. The display panel according to any one of claims 3 to 8, wherein the insulating wall is made of the same material as the pixel defining layer; or

The insulating wall is made of a different material from the pixel defining layer.

10. A display device comprising the display panel according to any one of claims 1 to 9.