KR100773934B1 - OLED display panel and its fabrication method - Google Patents

Abstract

The OLED display panel is an OLED panel passivation layer formed by combining an organic layer and an inorganic layer with one or more layers, respectively, in which an empty space is formed in the passivation layer so that heat transferred to the passivation layer of the empty space is lower passivation of the empty space. It is characterized by having a structure that is not easy to transfer to the layer. Also provided is a method for producing an ODL panel passivation layer.

OLED, OLED, passivation, void, heat buffer

Description

OLED display panel and its manufacturing method {OLED display panel and its fabrication method}

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional LED display panel.

2 is a cross-sectional view of an LED display panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for forming an empty space in forming a passivation layer of the ODL display panel of FIG. 2.

4A to 4G are cross-sectional views showing the process steps in FIG. 3.

<Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings>

400: substrate 410: organic material layer

420: first inorganic layer 430: soluble polymer layer

440: second inorganic layer 450: photosensitive film pattern

431: empty space for thermal buffer

The present invention relates to an LED display panel and a method of manufacturing the same, and more particularly, in the process of passivating the LED display panel using a laser of the LED display panel that can prevent the damage of the LED panel by heat It relates to a structure and a method of manufacturing the same.

OLED stands for Organic Light Emitting Diode, and refers to a self-luminous display that emits light by electrically exciting a luminescent organic compound.

OLED can be operated at low voltage and eliminates the drawbacks of LCDs such as thinning, wide viewing angles, and fast response speeds.It is equivalent to or better than TFT-LCD in medium size and lower than other display devices. It is attracting attention as a next-generation display that has advantages such as being able to have a simple manufacturing process and advantageous in future price competition.

The OLED is formed of an organic luminescent material in a space between a lower plate having a form in which an ITO transparent electrode pattern is formed as a positive electrode on a transparent glass substrate and an upper plate in which a metal electrode is formed as a negative electrode on the substrate. And a display device that emits light while a current flows through the organic light emitting material when a predetermined voltage is applied between the metal electrode and the metal electrode.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional LED display panel.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the conventional LED display panel 10, a lower electrode pattern 110 is formed on a substrate 100, and a pixel region in which pixel regions are defined is defined on the lower electrode pattern 110. And an insulator 120 is formed over the entire surface, and a separator 130 of reverse tape type (reverse diamond shape) is formed on the insulator 120, and the lower part exposed by the insulator 120 is formed. The light emitting organic layer 140 and the upper electrode layer 150 are sequentially stacked on the electrode pattern 110. All of the above structures are covered by a passivation layer 160.

The reason for forming the passivation layer 160 is to prevent oxidation of the upper electrode layer 150 and to protect the light emitting organic layer 140 sensitive to moisture or oxygen.

In order to form a harder layer after formation, the passivation layer 160 is irradiated with annealing by irradiating light having a high power short wavelength (about 150 to 400 nm) such as a laser, specifically an excimer laser. However, if the annealing process is deepened in the passivation layer 160, there is a risk of damaging the ODL element by giving a thermal shock to the ODL unit cell.

An object of the present invention is to provide an OLED display panel that can prevent the thermal shock of the device due to heat during the process even if the passivation layer deeply annealed.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing the ODL display panel.

Technical problems to be achieved by the present invention are not limited to the technical problems mentioned above, and other technical problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

In the embodiment of the present invention for solving the above technical problem, the ODL display panel is an OLED panel passivation layer formed by combining one or two or more organic and inorganic layers, respectively, to form a blank space in the passivation layer The heat transferred to the passivation layer of the space is characterized in that it has a structure that is not easy to transfer to the lower passivation layer of the empty space.

In order to solve the other technical problem described above, the passivation method of an LED element according to an embodiment of the present invention (a) coating the organic material layer and the first inorganic layer in order conformally as a whole on the substrate on which the unit cell manufacturing process is completed Step (b) forming a soluble polymer layer on the inorganic layer, (c) forming a second inorganic layer on the soluble polymer layer, (d) a photo-etching process on the second inorganic layer Forming a photoresist pattern for exposing the second inorganic layer in the region, (e) etching the second inorganic layer exposed with the photoresist pattern as a mask to expose the soluble polymer layer, and (f) using an organic solvent And removing the exposed soluble polymer layer to form a heat buffer layer.

Specific details of other embodiments are included in the detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

Advantages and features of the present invention and methods for achieving them will be apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but may be implemented in various different forms, only the present embodiments to make the disclosure of the present invention complete, and common knowledge in the art to which the present invention pertains. It is provided to fully inform the person having the scope of the invention, which is defined only by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

In addition, in the drawings, the size and thickness of layers and films or regions are exaggerated for clarity of description, and when any film or layer is described as being formed "on" of another film or layer, It may be directly on top of the other film or layer, and a third other film or layer may be interposed therebetween.

2 is a cross-sectional view of an LED display panel according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

However, in FIG. 2, the structure of the LED element formed with the substrate, the lower electrode pattern, the insulator, the separator, the light emitting organic layer, and the upper electrode pattern is the same as that of the conventional art, and a description thereof will be omitted. Since the present invention relates to a passivation layer for protecting these devices, only the description of the passivation layer will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 2, the passivation layer 200 of the OLED display panel is formed by combining one or more layers of an organic material layer and an inorganic material layer, and having at least one empty space between the organic material layer and the inorganic material layer. It is done.

In FIG. 2, SiN is formed on the organic material layer 201 that is coated onto the OLED element on which the pixel region is formed, which is generally coated with a foam (which means that the surface of the coating layer is in contact with the surface of the coating layer. A first inorganic layer 202 such as _x is formed, and an empty space 203 is formed on the first inorganic layer 202.

An inlet hole through which an organic solvent flows is formed on the hollow space layer 203 to form the hollow space 203. In order to prevent moisture or oxygen from penetrating into the inlet hole, the hollow space 203 is formed on the hollow space layer 203. The organic layer and the inorganic layer may be stacked in a form of singly or in combination.

However, the technical idea of the present invention is to form a passivation layer of the OED element with a single layer or a water layer of organic material and an inorganic layer, but to form an empty space in the middle region, from the upper passivation layer of the empty space to the lower passivation layer of the empty space. This is to make it difficult to transfer heat.

Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is not limited by the number of specific organic material layers and inorganic material layers, the stacking order, and the types of materials other than the formation of the empty space 203.

In FIG. 2, four layers of organic to inorganic layers are formed on the empty space 203, but this is merely an example.

The empty space 203 may be in a vacuum state, but is preferably filled with nitrogen or an inert gas equivalent thereto.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for forming an empty space in forming the passivation layer of the ODL display panel of FIG. 2, and FIGS. 4A to 4G are cross-sectional views of the process steps in FIG. 3. .

In order to form the passivation layer of the LED display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention, first, as shown in Figure 4a to conformally (formal) on the substrate 400, the unit cell (unit cell) manufacturing process is completed as a whole The organic layer 410 and the first inorganic layer 420 are sequentially applied (S310).

In this case, the meaning of the foam means that it is in contact with the surface of the coating layer as a whole and is applied to maintain the shape of the coating layer as it is.

A lower electrode pattern 401, an insulator 402, a separator 405, and a light emitting organic layer 403 and an upper electrode layer 404 are formed on the substrate 400, which is a conventional unit cell. It includes all those produced by the process.

The organic material layer 410 is coated to cover all of the unit cells on the substrate 400 on which the unit cell manufacturing process is completed. The organic material for forming the organic material layer 410 is a material used as a photosensitive film, or an acrylic or urethane-based polymer. Materials can be used.

The reason for applying the substrate 400 on which the unit cell manufacturing process is completed to the organic layer 410 is to prevent oxidation of the upper electrode 404 of the unit cell and deterioration of the light emitting organic layer 403 due to external moisture or oxygen invasion. This is to prevent.

The first inorganic layer 420 is conformally coated on the organic layer 410, and inorganic materials such as SiO ₂ and SiN _x may be used as the first inorganic layer 420.

Next, as shown in Figure 4b to form a soluble polymer layer 430 on the first inorganic material layer 420 (S320).

The soluble polymer layer 430 means a layer composed of a polymer which can be almost almost removed by a solvent such as an organic solvent, and the soluble polymer layer 430 is later removed by a solvent to thereby remove the thermal buffer bin of the present invention. A space (see 203 in FIG. 2) is created.

Generally, the soluble polymer layer 430 may be a material made of a nonpolar polymer so that it can be easily dissolved in a nonpolar organic solvent. Examples of the soluble polymer layer 430 include polyimide resin.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4C, a second inorganic layer 440 is formed on the soluble polymer layer 430 (S330).

Holes are formed in the second inorganic layer 440 to expose the lower soluble polymer layer 430 through an etching process, and the organic solvent penetrates into the soluble polymer layer 430 through the holes. The layer 430 will be dissolved.

Examples of the inorganic material used to form the second inorganic material layer 440 include SiO ₂ , SiN _x , and the like, and various inorganic materials may be used.

Next, as illustrated in FIG. 4D, a photosensitive film pattern 450 is formed on the second inorganic layer 440 (S340).

The photoresist pattern 450 is formed by a photo-etching process using a photomask, and is patterned in such a manner that the second inorganic layer 440 is exposed in a partial region.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4E, the second inorganic material layer 440 is etched using the photoresist pattern 450 as an etching mask (S350).

The second inorganic layer 440 exposed in a portion of the photoresist pattern 450 is removed by an etching process, and as a result, the soluble polymer layer 430 is exposed in the same region.

At this time, the etching process may be dry etching by plasma, but it is preferable to use a wet etching method using an etchant having excellent selectivity.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4F, the soluble polymer layer 430 is removed using an organic solvent to form a heat buffer empty space 431 (S360).

The organic solvent used at this time is determined according to the material used to form the soluble polymer layer 430. Acetone was used in the present invention.

In addition, when the soluble polymer layer 430 is removed, it is preferable to simultaneously remove the photoresist pattern 450 (which is referred to as an ashing process). To this end, as described above, the soluble polymer layer 430 may be removed from the photoresist pattern 450. It is preferable to use the same material as that used for formation.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4G, the organic material layer and / or the inorganic material layer are laminated in a conformal manner on the structure on which the thermal buffer space 431 is formed.

At this time, the number, type and arrangement of the organic layer and the inorganic layer to be used does not limit the scope of the present invention.

Finally, even when exposed to a high power short wavelength (150 ~ 400nm) light such as an excimer laser on the laminated structure manufactured by the above step for a long time exposure due to the heat buffer empty space 431 The heat transferred to the upper portion of the space 431 is not transferred to the lower portion of the thermal buffer empty space 431.

This makes it possible to anneal deeply into the passivation layer.

However, in the above process step, after the step of forming the heat buffer empty space 431, the process step of filling the empty space 431 with nitrogen or equivalent inert gas in the heat buffer empty space 431. You can also put more.

 Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments but may be manufactured in various forms, and having ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features of the present invention. Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are exemplary in all respects and not limiting.

According to the LED display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention and a method of manufacturing the same, a deeper annealing treatment is possible by forming an empty space for buffering the heat in the middle of the passivation layer so that it is not easy to transfer the heat from the upper side to the lower side. Compared to conventionally forming a sealing cap using glass, it becomes possible to perform a more reliable sealing cap process at a relatively simple and low cost.

Claims (6)

In the ODL panel passivation layer formed by combining one or two or more organic and inorganic layers, respectively, And an empty space in the passivation layer, so that the heat transferred to the upper passivation layer of the empty space is not easily transferred to the lower passivation layer of the empty space. The method of claim 1, And the empty space is filled with nitrogen or an equivalent inert gas. (a) sequentially applying an organic material layer and a first inorganic material layer onto the substrate on which the unit cell manufacturing process is completed; (b) forming a soluble polymer layer on the first inorganic material layer; (c) forming a second inorganic material layer on the soluble polymer layer; (d) forming a photoresist pattern on the second inorganic layer to expose the second inorganic layer in a partial region through a photo-etching process; (e) etching the second inorganic material layer in which the photoresist pattern is exposed as a mask to expose the soluble polymer layer; And (f) removing the soluble polymer layer exposed by using an organic solvent to form an empty space for thermal buffering. The method of claim 3, wherein The soluble polymer is made of the same material as the photosensitive film pattern passivation method of the LED element, characterized in that at the same time removed by the organic solvent. The method of claim 3, wherein The first inorganic layer and the second inorganic layer passivation method of the LED element, characterized in that made of SiN _x . The method of claim 3, wherein And said void space is filled with nitrogen or an inert gas equivalent thereto.

Images