KR20090084147A - Organic light emitting diode display - Google Patents

Abstract

An organic light emitting display device is provided to prevent damage to devices formed on a substrate by reducing a stress applied to the substrate in a scribing process. A second flat substrate(20) is faced with a first substrate(10). A sealing member(30) is arranged between the first substrate and the second substrate, and bonds the first substrate and the second substrate. A groove part(101) is formed according to an edge of the first substrate. The groove part includes a first groove part and a second groove part formed according to an edge inside the first substrate and the second substrate. The groove part is formed on the substrate by a sand blast method or an etching method.

Description

Organic light emitting display device {ORGANIC LIGHT EMITTING DIODE DISPLAY}

The present invention relates to an organic light emitting display device, and more particularly, to a sealing structure and a thinning of an organic light emitting display device.

Recently, display panels using organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) have been attracting attention due to rapidly developing semiconductor technologies among various display panels applied to display devices.

In an active driving type organic light emitting display using organic light emitting diodes, pixels, which are basic units of image expression, are arranged on a substrate in a matrix manner, and thin film transistors (TFTs) and organic light emitting diodes are disposed for each pixel. Control the pixels independently. Here, the organic light emitting device is composed of a hole injection electrode, an organic light emitting layer and an electron injection electrode, by the energy generated when the exciton generated by the combination of electrons and holes in the organic light emitting layer falls from the excited state to the ground state Light emission is achieved.

In this manner, the organic light emitting diode display has a self-luminous property and, unlike the liquid crystal display, does not require a separate light source, thereby reducing thickness and weight. In addition, the organic light emitting diode display has high quality characteristics such as low power consumption, high luminance, and high response speed, and thus is used in mobile electronic devices.

In general, an organic light emitting display device is formed in a structure in which a substrate on which a thin film transistor, an organic light emitting element, a wiring pattern is formed, and an encapsulation substrate disposed opposite to the substrate are sealed. Here, after the substrate and the encapsulation substrate are sealed by the frit, which is a sealing member, a portion of the encapsulation substrate corresponding to the pad region may be removed and exposed on the substrate on which the pads are formed on the substrate. The pads are connected to a connection element, such as a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB), that electrically connects an external device and an organic light emitting display device through thermocompression bonding.

However, in the process of removing a portion of the encapsulation substrate, a stress is applied to the substrate under the encapsulation substrate by cutting force, thereby damaging the thin film transistor, the organic light emitting element, and the wiring formed on the substrate. As such, when the elements on the substrate are damaged, this may lead to pixel defects of the organic light emitting diode display, and further, may cause degradation of product quality and customer complaints.

In addition, the sealing member for sealing the substrate and the encapsulation substrate is formed to have a thin thickness between the substrate and the encapsulation substrate below a predetermined reference value, which may act as an obstacle in realizing thinning of the organic light emitting display device.

An object of the present invention is to provide an organic light emitting display device which can be made slim while minimizing stress applied to the substrate during the cutting process of the substrate to prevent damage to components formed on the substrate.

An organic light emitting diode display according to an exemplary embodiment includes a first substrate including a display area and a pad area, a second substrate disposed opposite to the first substrate, and disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate, the first substrate being disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate. And a sealing member for joining the substrate and the second substrate, including a groove portion formed along an edge of the first substrate, and the sealing member is disposed in the groove portion.

The groove may be formed along an inner edge of the first substrate, and the depth of the groove may be 1/100 or less of the thickness of the first substrate.

The groove portion includes a first groove portion and a second groove portion formed along inner edges of the first substrate and the second substrate, respectively, and the depth of the first groove portion and the second groove portion is 1 / t of the thickness of the first substrate and the second substrate, respectively. May be 200 or less.

An interval between the first substrate and the second substrate may be 4 μm to 5 μm.

An interval between an uppermost surface of the organic light emitting device and the semiconductor device formed on the first substrate and the second substrate may be 4 μm to 12 μm.

The sealing member may be partially embedded in the groove portion.

The groove may be formed by etching.

The groove may be positioned in a pad area of the first substrate, and a pad extending from the display area to the pad area may be formed along the groove.

The organic light emitting diode display according to the embodiment of the present invention can reduce the stress applied to the substrate in the process of scribing the encapsulation substrate by the sealing member partially embedded in the groove formed in the substrate, thereby the device formed on the substrate This can prevent damage to the product and prevent credibility due to product defects. Moreover, the panel which consists of the board | substrate and the sealing board | substrate joined by the sealing member can be made thin.

Accordingly, the organic light emitting diode display according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention may be manufactured as a slim organic light emitting diode display having excellent durability by improving mechanical strength.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art may easily implement the present invention. As those skilled in the art would realize, the described embodiments may be modified in various different ways, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention.

In order to clearly describe the present invention, parts irrelevant to the description are omitted, and like reference numerals designate like elements throughout the specification.

In addition, in order to clearly express the several layers and areas in the drawing, the thickness was shown to enlarge. When a portion of a layer, film, region, plate, or the like is said to be "on" or "on" another portion, this includes not only when the other portion is "right over" but also when there is another portion in the middle. On the contrary, when a part is "just above" another part, there is no other part in the middle.

In addition, throughout the specification, when a part is "connected" to another part, it is not only "directly connected", but also "electrically connected" with another element in between. Include. In addition, when a part is said to "include" a certain component, this means that it may further include other components, except to exclude other components unless otherwise stated.

1 is an exploded perspective view schematically illustrating an organic light emitting diode display 100 according to an exemplary embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating the organic light emitting diode display of FIG. 1 combined.

1 and 2, the organic light emitting diode display 100 may include a first substrate 10 (hereinafter referred to as a substrate), a second substrate 20 (hereinafter referred to as an encapsulation substrate), and a sealing member 30. ).

The substrate 10 may be made of an insulating material or a metal material. Glass or plastic may be used as the insulating material, and stainless steel (SUS) may be used as the metal material.

The substrate 10 includes a display area DA from which light is emitted and a non-display area NDA positioned outside the display area DA. When the organic light emitting diode display 100 is formed of an active matrix (AM) structure, a plurality of organic light emitting diodes and thin film transistors driving the organic light emitting diodes are formed in the display area DA and are electrically connected to the organic light emitting diode display 100. Is formed. The non-display area NDA includes a pad area PA in which the pad 40 formed to extend from the wiring of the display area DA is located.

In the present embodiment, the substrate 10 includes a groove portion 101. The groove 101 is formed along the edge of the substrate 10 to the outside of the display area DA. In this case, the groove 101 is formed to cross the pad 40 in the pad area PA, and the pad 40 extends from the display area DA to the pad area PA along the curvature of the groove 101. It is formed on the substrate 10 in a shape.

The groove portion 101 is formed corresponding to the position where the sealing member 30 is to be applied, and the sealing member 30 is accommodated in the groove portion 101. The groove 101 may be formed in the substrate 10 through a sand blast or etching method.

The encapsulation substrate 20 is positioned to face the substrate 10, and the substrate 10 and the encapsulation substrate 20 are joined to each other by a sealing member 30 disposed along an edge thereof. As a result, the encapsulation substrate 20 seals the elements formed on the substrate 10. The encapsulation substrate 20 may be made of transparent glass. The encapsulation substrate 20 has a flat shape so that the entire surface thereof is parallel to the surface of the substrate 10.

3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. 2 schematically illustrating a state before the substrate 10 and the encapsulation substrate 20 are bonded together, and FIG. 4 illustrates the substrate 10 and the encapsulation substrate 20 in FIG. 3. ) Represents a state of adhesion.

Referring to FIG. 3, the light emitting part 50 is formed in the display area DA of the substrate 10, and the groove part 101 is formed in the pad area PA. The pad 40 extending from the display area DA side to the pad area PA is formed on the substrate 10 in the groove 101 along the cross-sectional shape of the groove 101.

In the cross-sectional shape of the groove 101, the bottom of the groove 101 may be formed flat. However, the shape of the groove is not limited thereto, and the groove may be formed in a cross-sectional shape of which the bottom forms a curved surface.

The sealing member 30 is coated and formed along the outer side of the encapsulation substrate 20. In the actual manufacturing process of the organic light emitting display device, the encapsulation substrate 20 is formed to have a size that matches the size of the substrate 10 (see the dotted line in FIG. 3), and the pad area PA of the substrate 10 is formed. The portion of the encapsulation substrate 10 corresponding to is attached to the sealing member 30 as shown in FIG. 4 and then removed through a cutting process by the cutting hill 35. As a result, the pad 40 formed in the pad area PA of the substrate 10 is exposed to the outside of the sealing member 30. The pad 40 is electrically connected to a driving integrated circuit and a flexible circuit board through a subsequent process.

When the assembly process of the substrate 10 and the encapsulation substrate 20 is described in detail, the substrate 10 and the encapsulation substrate 20 during the assembly process of the substrate 10 and the encapsulation substrate 20 in the structure as shown in FIG. 3. ) Is aligned and assembled, the sealing member 30 is accommodated in the groove 101 (see Fig. 4). Next, the laser beam is irradiated toward the sealing member 30 from the outside of the sealing substrate 20, and as a result, the substrate 10 and the sealing substrate 20 are bonded while the sealing member 30 is cured. Here, the hardening source for the sealing member 30 is not limited only to a laser.

When the substrate 10 and the encapsulation substrate 20 are bonded as described above, for example, the sealing member 30 applied to the encapsulation substrate 20 is aligned with the substrate 10 with the height of h1. In this case, the sealing member 30 may be embedded in the substrate 10 by h2, which is the depth of the groove 101 based on the inner surface 102 of the substrate 10.

Here, the groove 101 is formed to have a depth of 1/100 or less of the thickness of the substrate 10. The light emitting part 50 formed on the inner surface 102 of the substrate 10 has a top surface 501 formed on the substrate 10 with a height of about 4.7 μm with the inner surface 102. An interval between an uppermost surface of the light emitting part 50 formed on the substrate 10 and the encapsulation substrate 20 may be 4 μm to 12 μm.

When the depth h2 of the groove portion 101 is greater than 1/100 of the thickness of the substrate 10, the sealing member 30 is embedded in the groove portion 101 so that the encapsulation substrate 20 that seals the light emitting portion 50 emits light. It may be in contact with the part 50. Therefore, the gap between the substrate 10 and the encapsulation substrate 20 may be maintained such that the encapsulation substrate 20 does not come into contact with the light emitting part 50 while the substrate 10 and the encapsulation substrate 20 are bonded together. For example, the distance between the substrate 10 and the encapsulation substrate 20 may be 4 μm to 5 μm.

5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a part of the display device 100 ′ according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 5, the same reference numerals are used for the same configuration as the display device of FIG. 4, and description thereof will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 5, first and second grooves 101 ′ and 201 ′ are formed in the substrate 10 ′ and the encapsulation substrate 20 ′ of the display device 100 ′ along the edges thereof. The first grooves 101 ′ and the second grooves 201 are positioned to be aligned with each other when the substrate 10 ′ and the encapsulation substrate 20 ′ are bonded to each other. The sealing member 30 is applied to the second groove 201 ′ of the encapsulation substrate 20 ′ to bond the substrate 10 ′ to the encapsulation substrate 20 ′. At this time, the sealing member 30 is accommodated in the first groove portion 101 'and the second groove portion 201'.

Here, the first groove portion 101 'and the second groove portion 201' are formed to have a depth of 1/200 or less of the thickness of the substrate 10 'and the encapsulation substrate 20', respectively. For example, the depths of the first groove portion 101 'and the second groove portion 201 may be the same or different from each other, but the depth h4 and the second groove portion 201' of the first groove portion 101 'may be different. The sum h4 + h5 of the depth h5 is preferably 1/100 or less of the thickness of the substrate 10 'or the encapsulation substrate 20'.

In this structure, even when the sealing member 30 is embedded in the first groove portion 101 'and the second groove portion 201', the height h3 of the sealing member 30 is the height h1 of the sealing member 30 of FIG. May be the same as).

In the organic light emitting display device 100, 100 ′ of the present embodiment, when the substrates 10, 10 ′ and the encapsulation substrates 20, 20 ′ are bonded together, a part of the sealing member 30 is formed of the substrate 10 or the substrate 10. The grooves 101, 101 ', and 201 are formed in the substrate 10' and the encapsulation substrate 20 '. As a result, the entire thickness of the organic light emitting diode display device 100 and 100 ′ may be reduced while maintaining the height of the existing sealing member.

Furthermore, in such a structure, the contact area between the substrates 10, 10 ', the sealing member 30, and the encapsulation substrates 20, 20' is increased so that the substrates 10, 10 'and the encapsulation substrate 20 are increased. Adhesion between the 20's can be enhanced. In addition, since the difference between the height of the sealing member 30 and the components formed in the light emitting part 50, for example, a spacer (not shown) and the like, is reduced based on the inner surface of the substrate 10, 10 ′, In the cutting process, stress concentrated on the sealing member 30 may be reduced.

Therefore, as stress is concentrated during the cutting process, damage to relatively weak areas may be prevented, thereby increasing mechanical strength of the organic light emitting diode display 100 (100 ').

In the present embodiment, a case where the groove portion 101 is formed only in the substrate 10 and a case where the groove portions 101 'and 201' are formed in the substrate 10 'and the encapsulation substrate 20' have been described. It is not limited. For example, the groove portion may be formed only in the encapsulation substrate.

Meanwhile, in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, effects of the structure of the exemplary embodiment of the present invention are described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the present invention may be applied to a large area substrate for simultaneously manufacturing a plurality of display devices and a large area encapsulation substrate for sealing the same. A plurality of cells corresponding to the display device are formed in the large area substrate, and they are simultaneously sealed through the large area encapsulation substrate. Subsequently, a cutting process for separating the cells is performed. In this case, as in the above-described embodiment, a groove is formed in the substrate and / or the encapsulation substrate, and a sealing member is embedded in the groove to increase mechanical strength. Each cell can be safely separated without breaking specific areas by concentration.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the claims and the detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawings. Naturally, it belongs to the range of.

1 is an exploded perspective view of an organic light emitting diode display according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a plan view of an organic light emitting diode display according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. 2 and showing a state before the substrate and the encapsulation substrate are bonded.

4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which the substrate and the encapsulation substrate of FIG. 3 are bonded to each other.

5 is a partial cross-sectional view of an organic light emitting diode display according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of reference numerals for the main parts of the drawings>

100; An organic light emitting display device 10; Substrate 20; Encapsulation substrate

30; Sealing members 101, 101 ', 201; Home

Claims (8)

A first substrate including a display area and a pad area; A second substrate disposed opposite and flat to the first substrate; And A sealing member disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate to bond the first substrate and the second substrate; Including, And a groove formed along an edge of the first substrate, wherein the sealing member is disposed in the groove. The method of claim 1, The groove is formed along the inner edge of the first substrate, The depth of the groove is 1/100 or less of the thickness of the first substrate. The method of claim 1, The groove portion includes a first groove portion and a second groove portion formed along inner edges of the first substrate and the second substrate, respectively. The depth of the first groove portion and the second groove portion is 1/200 or less of the thickness of the first substrate and the second substrate, respectively. The method of claim 1, An organic light emitting display device having a spacing between the first substrate and the second substrate is 4 μm to 5 μm. The method of claim 1, An organic light emitting display device having a spacing between an uppermost surface of a light emitting portion formed on the first substrate and the second substrate is 4 μm to 12 μm. The method of claim 1, An organic light emitting display device in which the sealing member is partially embedded in the groove portion. The method of claim 1, The groove is formed by etching the organic light emitting display device. The method of claim 1, The groove is positioned in the pad region of the first substrate, and the groove is formed with a pad extending from the display region of the first substrate to the pad region along the groove portion.

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