KR101036424B1 - Electronic paper display device and manufacturing method of the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention discloses an electronic paper display device and a method of manufacturing the same.

The electronic paper display device includes a first electrode; A first pad part formed on an outer surface of the first electrode and electrically connected to the first electrode; A partition layer disposed on the inner surface of the first electrode to define a plurality of cells; An electron ball disposed in each cell; A second electrode bonded to the first electrode to seal the electron ball and having an edge region exposed from the first electrode; A second pad portion disposed on an inner surface of the second electrode of the edge region and electrically connected to the second electrode; And a flexible film disposed on the outer surface of the second electrode.

Electronic paper, electronic ball, flexible, pad part, adhesion

Description

Electronic paper display device and manufacturing method therefor {Electronic paper display device and manufacturing method of the same}

The present invention relates to an electronic paper display device and a method for manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to an electronic paper display device having a flexible film and a method for manufacturing the same.

BACKGROUND ART As a next generation display device, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP), an organic EL device, an electronic paper display device, and the like are widely used.

Among them, electronic paper display elements can be flexibly bent, and the production cost is much lower than that of other display devices.

In addition, since the electronic paper display device does not require backlighting or continuous recharging, the electronic paper display device can be driven with very little energy, and thus has excellent energy efficiency.

In addition, the electronic paper display element can be folded, including a print media such as books, newspapers or magazines, because the electronic paper display device can also have a memory function that does not completely disappear the displayed characters or images even when the power is momentarily turned off. It is expected to be widely used in a wide range of fields such as screens and electronic wallpaper.

On the other hand, the technical method to implement the electronic paper display device is largely a liquid crystal method, an organic EL method, a reflective film reflective display method, an electrophoretic method, a twist ball method, an electrochromic method, a mechanical reflective display method, etc. The development is divided into.

Among these, an electronic paper display device using a twist ball is interposed between two electrodes and two electrodes, and includes an elastomer sheet having a twist ball having optical and electrical anisotropy. At this time, the dielectric fluid is coated on the outer circumferential surface of the twist ball. Here, the twist ball may be made of black hemispheres and white hemispheres charged with different charges. When a voltage is applied to two electrodes, the electronic paper display device using the twist ball rotates the hemispheres of the particles toward the electrode faces of opposite polarities in the dielectric solution according to the applied voltage direction. Will be displayed.

In order to manufacture such an electronic paper display element, first and second electrodes are formed on the first and second glass substrates, respectively. Thereafter, first and second pad portions for applying a voltage are formed on edges of the first and second electrodes, respectively. Thereafter, after the twist ball is interposed between the first and second electrodes, the first and second glass substrates are bonded to each other so that the twist ball is sealed. Here, the first and second glass substrates are arranged to be offset from each other so that the first and second pad portions are exposed to be electrically connected to the external circuit portion. At this time, in order to bond the first and second glass substrates, a constant pressure is applied to the first and second glass substrates facing each other, and each edge of the first and second glass substrates is not supported, so the first And the edge of the second glass substrate may be broken by the pressure. Accordingly, there is a problem that the yield of the electronic paper display device is lowered.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the problems that may occur in a conventional electronic paper display device, and to provide an electronic paper display device having a flexible film and a method of manufacturing the same.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic paper display device. The electronic paper display device includes a first electrode; A first pad part formed on an outer surface of the first electrode and electrically connected to the first electrode; A partition layer disposed on the inner surface of the first electrode to define a plurality of cells; An electron ball disposed in each cell; A second electrode bonded to the first electrode to seal the electron ball and having an edge region exposed from the first electrode; A second pad portion disposed below the second electrode of the edge region and electrically connected to the second electrode; And a flexible film disposed on the outer surface of the second electrode.

The first electrode may be a silicon substrate doped with impurities.

In addition, the electron ball may be a twist ball or a microcapsule.

The apparatus may further include a sealing member sealing the first electrode and the second electrode.

In addition, the sealing member may further include a gap holding member for maintaining a gap between the first and second electrodes.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing the electronic paper display device. The manufacturing method includes providing a first electrode: forming a barrier layer defining a plurality of cells on the first electrode; Injecting an electron ball into each cell; Bonding a flexible film on the first electrode, the flexible film having a second electrode having an edge region exposed from the first electrode to seal the electron ball; And forming first and second pad portions on the outer surface of the first electrode and the inner surface of the second electrode of the edge, respectively.

Here, in the step of bonding the flexible film having a second electrode having an edge region exposed from the first electrode to seal the electron ball on the first electrode, the same as the first electrode on the flexible film A support substrate having an area may be disposed.

In addition, in the step of bonding the flexible film having a second electrode having an edge region exposed from the first electrode to seal the electron ball on the first electrode, on the first electrode except the edge region Pressure can be applied.

In addition, the first electrode may be a silicon substrate doped with impurities.

In addition, the electron ball may be a twist ball or a microcapsule.

The electronic paper display device of the present invention may not only have a flexible film having excellent durability, but also may expose a part of one electrode of the two electrodes to the outside and perform a bonding process, thereby reducing damage to the electronic paper display device.

In addition, the electronic paper display device of the present invention can be prevented from failure failure more effectively as the bonding process is manufactured by applying pressure to each of the two electrodes except for the exposed region.

In addition, the electronic paper display device of the present invention can serve as the electrode and the substrate at the same time as the silicon doped with impurities, it is possible to reduce the thickness and size of the electronic paper display device, to reduce the process, and to facilitate the semiconductor process equipment Available.

In addition, the electronic paper display device of the present invention can improve the production efficiency by forming the pad portion after the bonding process.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings of the electronic paper display device. The following embodiments are provided as examples to sufficiently convey the spirit of the present invention to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below, but may be embodied in other forms. In the drawings, the size and thickness of the device may be exaggerated for convenience. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

1 is a cross-sectional view of an electronic paper display device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, an electronic paper display device according to a first embodiment of the present invention may include a first electrode 100, a first pad part 160, a partition layer 110, an electron ball 120, and a second electrode. 140, the second pad part 170, and the flexible film 150 may be included.

The first electrode 100 may include a display area DA displaying an image and a sealing area AA disposed along the periphery of the display area DA.

The first electrode 100 may be a silicon substrate doped with impurities. Here, examples of the impurities may be B, P, In, P, As, and the like. In addition, the first electrode 100 may function not only as an electrode but also as a support layer supporting the electronic paper display device. As a result, the thickness of the electronic paper display device can be reduced and the manufacturing process can be reduced.

In this case, the outer surface of the first electrode 100 may be exposed to the outside. As a result, the first pad part 160 to be exposed to the outside in order to be electrically connected to the external circuit part may be disposed on the outer surface of the first electrode 100. The first pad part 160 may be disposed outside the display area of the first electrode 100, for example, the sealing area AA. The first pad part 160 may be electrically connected to the external circuit part to provide a voltage applied from the external circuit part to the first electrode 100.

Here, examples of the material for forming the first pad part 160 may be Ni, Cu, Ag, Cr, Al, and the like, but the embodiment is not limited thereto.

The partition layer 110 is disposed on the inner surface of the first electrode 100 to define the plurality of cells C. Here, the partition layer 110 may be made of a transparent material so as not to affect the image quality. For example, the partition layer 110 may be made of polyurethane acrylate (PUA) or polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The shape of the cell (C) may be formed in various forms when viewed in plan view, it is not limited in this embodiment of the present invention. For example, the shape of the cell C may have a shape of a rectangle, a circle, and a cross.

The electron ball 120 may be disposed inside each cell (C). Accordingly, the electron balls 120 may be uniformly arranged by the cells C, thereby improving the contrast ratio and preventing the image quality defect from occurring.

The electron ball 120 may display an image according to electric fields applied to the first and second electrodes 100 and 140. For example, the electron ball 120 may be a twist ball composed of a first hemisphere reflecting light and a second hemisphere absorbing light. Here, the first hemisphere and the second hemisphere may be charged with different charges. At this time, the dielectric liquid is filled in each cell C, and the electron ball 120 may be floating in the dielectric liquid. Here, the electronic ball 120 may display an image as the electronic ball 120 is rotated by an electric field applied to each cell C using a dielectric medium as a medium.

The embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the shape of the electron ball 120, and as another example of the electron ball 120, the capsule may be a microcapsule having particles charged with different charges inside the capsule.

The second electrode 140 may be disposed on the partition layer 110 including the electron ball 120. The second electrode 140 may be made of a transparent conductive material. Here, examples of the material for forming the second electrode 140 may include ITO, IZO, ITZO, and the like.

The second electrode 140 may face the first electrode 100. That is, the second electrode 140 may include the display area DA and the sealing area AA. In this case, the second electrode 140 may further include an edge area EA extending from one side of the sealing area AA. Accordingly, the second electrode 140 may have a larger area than the first electrode 100. Accordingly, when the first electrode 100 and the second electrode 140 are bonded to each other, the edge area EA of the second electrode 140 may be exposed from the first electrode 100.

The second pad part 170 may be disposed on an inner side surface of the second electrode 140 of the exposed edge area EA. The second pad part 170 may be electrically connected to the second electrode 140, and may also be electrically connected to an external circuit part. As a result, the second pad unit 170 may serve to apply a voltage applied from the external circuit unit to the second electrode 140. Examples of the material for forming the second pad part 170 may include Ni, Cu, Ag, Cr, and Al, but are not limited thereto.

Here, the first and second electrodes 100 and 140 may be bonded to each other by sealing the electron ball 120 by the sealing member 130 disposed along the sealing area AA. The sealing member 130 may be made of an adhesive resin, for example, an epoxy resin, to which the first and second electrodes 100 and 140 may be bonded. In addition, the sealing member 130 may further include a gap holding member 130a capable of maintaining a constant gap between the first and second electrodes 100 and 140.

The flexible film 150 is disposed on the outer surface of the second electrode 140. The flexible film 150 may be a support layer of the second electrode 140. Examples of the material for forming the flexible film 150 include polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polyethylene (PE), polycarbonate (PC), polyacrylate, polymethyl meta Acrylate, polyurethane and cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB) and the like.

Therefore, the electronic paper display device according to the embodiment of the present invention can be applied to the flexible display device. In addition, since the electronic paper display device includes a flexible film instead of the conventional glass substrate, the electronic paper display device can be prevented from being damaged during the process of forming the electronic paper display device.

In addition, since the first electrode is made of a silicon substrate doped with impurities, not only can the thickness and size of the electronic paper display device be reduced, but also the manufacturing process of the electronic paper display device can easily use semiconductor processing equipment. There is no need to invest in manufacturing equipment. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the electronic paper display element can be reduced.

Hereinafter, a method of manufacturing an electronic paper display device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5.

2 to 5 are cross-sectional views illustrating a method of manufacturing an electronic paper display device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, in order to manufacture an electronic paper display device, a first electrode 100 is first provided. The first electrode 100 may be a silicon substrate doped with impurities. The first electrode 100 may include a display area DA and a sealing area AA disposed along the periphery of the display area DA.

A partition layer 110 for defining a plurality of cells C may be formed on the inner surface of the first electrode 100. Here, in order to form the partition layer 110, a transparent resin layer capable of transmitting light is formed on the inner surface of the first electrode 100. Here, the transparent resin layer may be a thermosetting resin or UV curable resin. For example, the resin layer may be polyurethane acrylate (PUA) or polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The mold is pressed and adhered to the resin layer. At this time, the resin layer may be deformed into a shape inverted from the pattern shape of the mold. Subsequently, after the modified resin layer is cured, the partition layer 110 may be formed on the first electrode 100 by separating the mold.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the partition layer 110 has been described as being formed by an imprinting method using a mold, but is not limited thereto. For example, the partition layer 110 may be formed through a laser method or a photolithography method.

Referring to FIG. 3, the electron ball 120 is injected into the cell C defined by the barrier layer 110. Here, the electron ball 120 may be a twist ball. Then, the dielectric liquid is filled in each cell including the electron ball 120. The dielectric liquid may be a liquid material capable of light conversion of the liquid phase and a liquid substance having a lubricating component, for example, a liquid substance such as Dow corning 10 or Centistoke 200 may be used.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the electronic ball 120 has been described as a twisted ball, but is not limited thereto. For example, the electron ball 120 may be a microcapsule. In this case, when the electron ball 120 is a microcapsule, the process of filling the dielectric solution may be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 4, the sealing member 130 is coated along the sealing area AA. Thereafter, the flexible film 150 having the first electrode 100 and the second electrode 140 formed thereon is bonded to the electronic ball 120 using the sealing member 130. Here, the flexible film 150 is not only easily damaged by pressure, but also has a smaller weight than the glass substrate, thereby forming a lightweight electronic paper display device.

Here, the sealing member 130 may be made of an adhesive resin, for example, an epoxy resin. In addition, the sealing member 130 may further include a gap holding member 130a for maintaining a gap between the first and second electrodes 100 and 140.

The first electrode 100 and the second electrode 140 bonded by the sealing member 130 may be disposed to face each other. In this case, the second electrode 140 not only includes the display area DA and the sealing area AA like the first electrode 100, but also an edge extending from the sealing area AA of the first electrode 100. The area EA may be further provided. As a result, the edge area EA of the second electrode 140 may be exposed to the outside in order to form the second pad part 170 in a subsequent process.

In addition, the support substrate 180 may be disposed on the flexible film 150 in a process of bonding the flexible film 150 on which the first electrode 100 and the second electrode 140 are formed. The support substrate 180 may serve to fix the flexible film 150. In this case, the support substrate 180 may have the same area as the first electrode 100. That is, the support substrate 180 may expose the edge area EA of the second electrode 140. Here, when applying a uniform pressure on the support substrate 180 and the first electrode 100, respectively, in order to proceed with the bonding process, it is uniform to the second electrode and the first electrode except the exposed edge area (EA) Since a pressure is applied, the edge area EA of the second electrode 140 can be prevented from being damaged. In this case, the support substrate 180 may be a glass substrate or a silicon substrate.

In addition, since the outer surface of the first electrode 100 is exposed to the outside, it is not necessary to separately expose the inner surface of the first electrode 100 to form the first pad portion 160. That is, since the first electrode 100 and the second electrode 140 do not need to be bonded to each other in a conventional manner in order to expose the edge area EA of the first electrode 100, the first and second electrodes may be bonded to each other. In addition to preventing damage to the second electrodes 100 and 140, the size of the electronic paper display device may be reduced.

Referring to FIG. 5, after the support substrate 180 is separated from the flexible film 150, the first and second pad portions may be formed on the outer surface of the first electrode 100 and the inner surface of the second electrode 140, respectively. 160, 170). Here, the first and second pad parts 160 and 170 may be electrically connected to the first and second electrodes 100 and 140, respectively. In this case, the first pad part 160 may be disposed on a non-display area, for example, the sealing area AA of the first electrode 100. In addition, the second pad part 170 may be disposed in the edge area EA exposed to the outside.

As a result, the first and second pad parts 160 and 170 are formed as the first and second pad parts 160 and 170 are formed after the defects generated in the bonding process are examined. It is possible to improve production efficiency rather than to proceed with the process.

Therefore, as in the embodiment of the present invention, the electronic paper display device not only includes a flexible film having excellent durability, but also exposes only one electrode part of the two electrodes to the outside and proceeds the bonding process, thereby providing the electronic paper display device. Can reduce damage.

In addition, the electronic paper display device of the present invention can be more effectively prevented from failure as it is manufactured by the bonding process of applying pressure to the two electrodes except for a part of the exposed electrode.

In addition, the electronic paper display device of the present invention can serve as an electrode and a substrate at the same time as the silicon doped with impurities, it is possible to reduce the thickness of the electronic paper display device, reduce the process, and easily use the semiconductor process equipment Can be.

In addition, the electronic paper display device of the present invention can improve the production efficiency by forming the pad portion after the bonding process.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention described above are disclosed for the purpose of illustration, and various substitutions, modifications, and changes within the scope without departing from the spirit of the present invention for those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. It will be possible, but such substitutions, changes and the like should be regarded as belonging to the following claims.

1 is a cross-sectional view of an electronic paper display device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

2 to 5 are cross-sectional views illustrating a method of manufacturing an electronic paper display device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

100: first electrode

110: partition wall

120: electronic ball

130: sealing member

140: second electrode

150: flexible film

160: first pad portion

170: second pad portion

Claims (10)

A first electrode; A first pad part formed on an outer surface of the first electrode and electrically connected to the first electrode; A partition layer disposed on the inner surface of the first electrode to define a plurality of cells; An electron ball disposed in each cell; A second electrode bonded to the first electrode to seal the electron ball and having an edge region exposed from the first electrode; A second pad portion disposed below the second electrode of the edge region and electrically connected to the second electrode; And A flexible film disposed on the outer surface of the second electrode; Electronic paper display device comprising a. The method of claim 1, And the first electrode is a silicon substrate doped with an impurity. The method of claim 1, The electronic ball is a twisted ball or micro-capsule electronic paper display device. The method of claim 1, The electronic paper display device further comprising a sealing member for sealing the first electrode and the second electrode. The method of claim 4, wherein The sealing member further comprises a gap holding member for maintaining a gap between the first and second electrodes. Providing a first electrode: Forming a barrier layer defining a plurality of cells on the first electrode; Injecting an electron ball into each cell; Bonding a flexible film on the first electrode, the flexible film having a second electrode having an edge region exposed from the first electrode to seal the electron ball; And Forming first and second pad portions on the outer side of the first electrode and the inner side of the second electrode of the edge, respectively; Method of manufacturing an electronic paper display device comprising a. The method of claim 6, Bonding the flexible film having a second electrode having an edge region exposed from the first electrode to seal the electron ball on the first electrode; And a support substrate having the same area as the first electrode on the flexible film. The method of claim 6, Bonding the flexible film having a second electrode having an edge region exposed from the first electrode to seal the electron ball on the first electrode; A method of manufacturing an electronic paper display device for applying pressure on the first electrode except the edge region. The method of claim 6, And the first electrode is a silicon substrate doped with an impurity. The method of claim 6, The electron ball is a twist ball or a microcapsule manufacturing method of an electronic paper display device.

Images