KR20150090474A - Display panel and method of manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A display panel divided a light emitting area, a circuit area surrounding the light emitting area, and a surrounding area surrounding the circuit area comprises a first substrate; a second substrate arranged to face the first substrate; multiple organic light emitting devices formed on the first substrate, and arranged in the light emitting area; a sealing member arranged over a part of the circuit area and a part of the surrounding area, while sealing a space between the first substrate and the second substrate; a multiple detection cells formed on the second substrate, and arranged in the light emitting area; multiple conductive patterns formed on the second substrate, and arranged on the upper part of the sealing member; a first protective membrane arranged on the second substrate to cover the detection cells and conductive patterns; and a second protective membrane arranged on the first protective membrane to cover edge part conducting patterns located on the edge part of the display panel among conductive patterns.

Description

DISPLAY PANEL AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME [0002]

The present invention relates to a display device, and more particularly, to a display panel provided in a display device and a method of manufacturing the same.

Organic light emitting display (OLED) devices are emerging as promising next generation display devices with various advantages such as wide viewing angle, fast response speed, thin thickness and low power consumption. The display panel of the organic light emitting display may be divided into a light emitting region and a non-emitting region. In general, a peripheral circuit for controlling the organic light emitting element is disposed in the circuit region of the non-emitting region, and a sealing member for sealing the organic light emitting element is formed in the peripheral region of the non- . In recent years, studies have been made to reduce non-emission regions in which organic light emitting elements are not disposed from a design standpoint. For example, the sealing member is arranged so as to overlap the peripheral circuit to reduce the non-emission region. However, during the sealing process (or the sealing process) through the laser beam irradiation, the circuits placed over the sealing member by the high-temperature laser beam are thermally damaged and defective.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a display panel including a structure for preventing thermal damage of peripheral circuits superimposed on a sealing member.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing a display panel that prevents thermal damage to peripheral circuits disposed over a sealing member in a sealing process.

It should be understood, however, that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

In order to accomplish one object of the present invention, a display panel according to embodiments of the present invention is divided into a light emitting region, a circuit region surrounding the light emitting region, and a peripheral region surrounding the circuit region, A second substrate disposed to face the first substrate, a plurality of organic light emitting elements formed on the first substrate and disposed in the light emitting region, a space between the first substrate and the second substrate, A sealing member disposed over a part of the circuit region and a part of the peripheral region; a plurality of sensing cells formed on the second substrate and disposed in the light emitting region; A first protective layer disposed on the second substrate to cover the sensing cells and the conductive patterns, and a second protective layer disposed on the second protective layer, Among can include a second protective layer disposed on the first protective film to cover the conductive pattern edge portion which is located at a corner of the display panel.

According to an embodiment, the first passivation layer may include silicon oxide (SiOx) or silicon nitride (SiNx).

According to one embodiment, the second passivation layer may include a conductive layer having light transmittance.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the conductive layer may include at least one of indium tin oxide (ITO), indium oxide, indium zinc oxide (IZO), tin oxide, or zinc oxide oxide).

According to an embodiment, the second protective film may include an inorganic layer having light transmittance.

According to one embodiment, the inorganic layer may comprise silicon oxide or silicon nitride.

According to an embodiment, the second protective film may have a structure in which an inorganic layer having light transmission properties is laminated on a conductive layer having light transmittance.

According to an embodiment, the second protective film may have a structure in which a light-transmitting conductive layer is laminated on an inorganic light-transmitting inorganic layer.

According to an embodiment, the second protective layer may have a structure in which an insulating layer is laminated on a first conductive layer having light transmittance, and a second conductive layer having light transmittance is laminated on the insulating layer.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a display panel including a light emitting region, a circuit region surrounding the light emitting region, and a peripheral region surrounding the circuit region, The method comprising the steps of: preparing a first substrate; forming a plurality of organic light emitting elements located in the light emitting region on the first substrate; forming a plurality of sensing Forming a plurality of conductive patterns over a portion of the circuit region and a portion of the peripheral region on the second substrate; covering the sensing cells and the conductive patterns on the second substrate; And the first protective film is formed on the first protective film and the corner portion conductive patterns located at the corner portion of the display panel among the conductive patterns It is possible to form the second protective film. Thereafter, a sealing member is disposed over a part of the circuit region on the bottom surface of the second substrate and a part of the peripheral region, a second substrate is disposed so as to face the first substrate, and a laser beam So that the space between the first substrate and the second substrate can be sealed.

According to an embodiment, the first passivation layer may include silicon oxide (SiOx) or silicon nitride (SiNx).

According to one embodiment, the second passivation layer may include a conductive layer having light transmittance.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the conductive layer may include at least one of indium tin oxide (ITO), indium oxide, indium zinc oxide (IZO), tin oxide, or zinc oxide oxide).

According to an embodiment, the second protective film may include an inorganic layer having light transmittance.

According to one embodiment, the inorganic layer may comprise silicon oxide or silicon nitride.

According to an embodiment, the second protective film may be formed by forming a light-transmitting conductive layer on the first protective film so as to cover the corner conductive patterns, and forming an inorganic light-transmitting layer on the conductive layer .

According to an embodiment, the second protective film may be formed by forming an inorganic light-transmitting inorganic layer on the first protective film so as to cover the corner conductive patterns, and forming a light-transmitting conductive layer on the inorganic layer .

According to an embodiment, the second protective film may be formed by forming a first conductive layer having light transmittance so as to cover the edge conductive patterns on the first protective film, forming an insulating layer on the first conductive layer , And forming a second conductive layer having light transmittance on the insulating layer.

The display panel according to embodiments of the present invention may have a first protective film covering the edge conductive patterns and a second protective film (i.e., multiple protective films) disposed on the first protective film. Particularly, the second protective film can suppress the reflection of the laser beam of the corner portion conductive patterns generated during the sealing process of the display panel, and can prevent the laser beam from concentrating at the corner of the display panel. As a result, the sealing region irradiated with the laser beam in the display panel can maintain a uniform heat-temperature characteristic over the entire region, and thermal damage of peripheral circuits superimposed on the sealing member can be prevented. Further, the intensity of the laser beam can be increased, and the reliability of the sealing structure can be improved.

The manufacturing method of the display panel according to the embodiments of the present invention can manufacture a display panel having a multiple protection film structure covering the corner conductive patterns. As a result, in the sealing process of the display panel, thermal damage caused by the laser beam or the like generated at the second electrode or the peripheral circuit located under the edge portion conductive patterns can be prevented.

It should be understood, however, that the effects of the present invention are not limited to the above-described effects, but may be variously modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

1 is a plan view showing a display panel according to embodiments of the present invention.
2 is a sectional view partially showing the display panel of Fig.
3 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a second protective film included in the display panel of FIG.
4 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the second protective film included in the display panel of FIG.
5 is a plan view showing a display panel according to embodiments of the present invention.
6 is a flowchart showing a method of manufacturing a display panel according to embodiments of the present invention.
Figs. 7 to 10 are cross-sectional views showing a manufacturing method of the display panel of Fig.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals are used for the same constituent elements in the drawings and redundant explanations for the same constituent elements are omitted.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view partially showing the display panel of FIG.

1 and 2, the display panel 100 is divided into a light emitting region I, a circuit region II surrounding the light emitting region I, and a peripheral region III surrounding the circuit region II. . In addition, the display panel 100 may include a sealing region IV located over a part of the circuit region II and a portion of the peripheral region III. On the other hand, the display panel 100 may be an organic light emitting display panel, but the type of the display panel 100 is not limited thereto. Hereinafter, it is assumed that the display panel 100 is an organic light emitting display panel.

The light emitting region I is a display region in which a plurality of pixels are formed, and is located at a central portion of the display panel 100, and may have a relatively large area. Each of the pixels may include a first electrode, a second electrode, and organic light emitting devices 130 including an organic light emitting structure.

The circuit region II may be an area where wirings and peripheral circuits 134 for supplying electrical signals and power to the pixels are disposed. The circuit region II may surround at least three sides of the luminescent region I and may contact the side of the luminescent region I but is not overlapped with the luminescent region I.

The sealing region IV may be a cell sealing region in which a sealing member for sealing the organic light emitting element and the pixel circuit disposed in the light emitting region I is disposed. As shown in Fig. 2, the sealing region IV may be a region spanning a part of the circuit region II and a portion of the peripheral region III. The sealing region IV may be spaced apart from the luminescent region I by a certain distance and may entirely surround the luminescent region I. [ That is, the sealing region IV may form a closed loop surrounding four sides of the light-emitting region I. Therefore, the sealing region IV can form a plurality of corners. On the other hand, the circuit region II may partially overlap with the sealing region IV. Therefore, the sum of the areas of the circuit region II and the sealing region IV which are non-display regions (i.e., non-emission regions) can be reduced.

The display panel 100 includes a first substrate 120 including a light emitting region I, a circuit region II and a peripheral region III and a second substrate 140 disposed to face the first substrate 120. [ . ≪ / RTI > And a touch panel including a plurality of conductive patterns 160 electrically connected to the sensing cells 150 and the sensing cells 150 on the second substrate 140. The sensing cells 150 are included in the light emitting region I on the second substrate 140 and the sensing cells 150 can sense the touch position according to a change in resistance or capacitance. The conductive patterns 160 may be disposed in the sealing region IV on the second substrate 140 and may serve to transfer electrical signals from the sensing cells 150. [ Accordingly, the conductive patterns 160 may form a closed loop surrounding four sides of the luminescent region I. That is, the conductive patterns 160 may be formed along the sealing region IV. Hereinafter, the edge portion conductive patterns refer to a set of conductive patterns arranged at corner portions of the display panel 100. For example, if the conductive patterns 160 form a square-shaped loop, four corner portions may be formed, and the display panel 100 may include four corner conductive patterns.

The first protective layer 170 may be formed entirely on the second substrate 140 to cover the sensing cells 150 and the conductive patterns 160.

The sealing member 190 may be sealed (i.e., sealed) between the first substrate 120 and the second substrate 140 while being melted by the laser beam irradiated on the second substrate 140 and then cured. The intensity of the laser beam can be adjusted to such an extent that the sealing member 190 can be sufficiently melted. At this time, the laser beam is reflected by the conductive patterns 160 disposed on the sealing member 190, and the laser beam is irradiated unevenly on the sealing member 190. Accordingly, the sealing state between the first substrate 120 and the second substrate 140 may be poor. To improve this, the output of the laser beam can be increased to perform the sealing process. However, when the output of the laser beam irradiated on the sealing region IV is increased, thermal damage of the circuit disposed under the sealing member 190 by the laser beam may occur. Particularly, the laser beam is intensively irradiated to the corner portion of the display panel 100, and damage to the circuit disposed under the edge portion conductive patterns is largely generated. Therefore, in the present invention, by disposing the second protective film 200 covering the corner portion conductive pattern on the first protective film 170, it is possible to prevent damage to the circuits arranged at the corner portion by the laser beam. The second protective film 200 can prevent the laser beam from concentrating on the edge portion.

2, the display panel 100 includes a first substrate 120 and a second substrate 140 disposed to face each other, and a second substrate 140 disposed between the first substrate 120 and the second substrate 140 And may include organic light emitting devices 130 and a sealing member 190. The display panel 100 includes a plurality of sensing cells 150, a plurality of conductive patterns 160, a first protective layer 230, and a second protective layer 200 disposed on a second substrate 140 can do. Specifically, FIG. 2 shows a partial cross-sectional view taken along the line V-V 'of FIG. The sealing member 190 is a sealing member 190 disposed at a corner of the display panel 100 and the conductive patterns 160 are corner conductive patterns disposed at the corner of the display panel 100 do.

The display panel 100 may further include a plurality of thin film transistors and signal wiring patterns disposed between the first substrate 120 and the second substrate 140. The display panel 100 may be divided into a light emitting region I, a circuit region II and a peripheral region III.

The first substrate 120 may include a transparent substrate. For example, the first substrate 120 may include a glass substrate, a transparent plastic substrate, a transparent ceramic substrate, and the like. In one embodiment, the first substrate 120 may be a flexible substrate.

A pixel circuit 132 including a first thin film transistor T1, a second thin film transistor T2 and a first capacitor C1 and a plurality of organic light emitting elements 130 may be disposed. In the circuit region II on the first substrate 120, a third thin film transistor T3 and peripheral circuits 134 including signal wiring patterns may be disposed.

In one embodiment, the first through third thin film transistors T1, T2, and T3 each have a top gate structure in which an active pattern, a gate insulating layer, a gate electrode, an interlayer insulating layer, and a source / Lt; / RTI > However, the configurations of the first through third thin film transistors T1, T2, and T3 are not limited thereto. For example, the first to third thin film transistors T1, T2, and T3 may have a bottom-gate structure in which the gate electrodes are located under the active patterns. Further, in one embodiment, the first and second capacitors C1 and C2 may include a lower electrode, an upper electrode, and an interlayer insulating film disposed between the lower electrode and the upper electrode, respectively.

The peripheral region III may be an area surrounding the circuit region II outside the circuit region II. A reflection pattern 195 may be included in the peripheral region III. The reflective pattern 195 may comprise a metal such as aluminum, magnesium, silver, platinum, gold, chromium, tungsten, molybdenum, titanium, palladium, alloys thereof or doped polysilicon. The sealing region IV in which the sealing member 190 is disposed may be formed over a part of the circuit region II and a part of the peripheral region III. In one embodiment, the sealing member 250 may be disposed superimposed on at least a portion of the peripheral circuits 134 and the second electrode to seal the space between the first substrate 120 and the second substrate 140 .

On the other hand, the organic light emitting elements 130 may be disposed on the pixel circuit 132 in the light emitting region I. The organic light emitting devices 130 may receive various signals from the pixel circuits 132 and the peripheral circuits 134 to implement various pixels. The organic light emitting devices 130 may include first electrodes, organic light emitting structures, and a second electrode.

The second substrate 140 may be disposed to face the first substrate 120. The second substrate 140 may comprise a material that is substantially the same as or similar to the first substrate 120. In one embodiment, the second substrate 140 may serve as an encapsulation substrate for sealing the organic light emitting elements 130 disposed on the first substrate 120.

The sealing member 190 may be disposed between the first substrate 120 and the second substrate 140 over a portion of the circuit region II and a portion of the peripheral region III. The sealing member 190 forms a closed loop and can seal the organic light emitting elements 130 disposed in the light emitting region I. [ That is, the sealing member 250 may be heated by the laser beam irradiation, and then may be sealed through the sealing process, which is then cured, to seal the organic light emitting elements 130. The sealing member 190 may include a glass frit or the like. In one embodiment, the sealing member 190 may be disposed superimposed with at least a portion of the second electrode or peripheral circuits 134. Therefore, the area of the non-display area can be reduced.

A plurality of sensing cells 150 and a plurality of conductive patterns 160 may be disposed on the second substrate 140. The sensing cells 150 and the conductive patterns 160 may constitute a touch panel.

In one embodiment, the sensing cells 150 may be disposed within the luminescent region I, and the conductive patterns 160 may be disposed within the non-luminescent region. In one embodiment, the conductive patterns 160 are disposed over the top of the sealing member 190, that is, above the sealing region IV, which is a region formed over a portion of the circuit region II and a portion of the peripheral region III. .

The sensing cells 150 may be formed in a dispersed manner on the light-emitting region I. In one embodiment, the sensing cells 150 may be formed of a transparent electrode material so that light can be transmitted from the organic light emitting devices 130 disposed below. In one embodiment, the sensing cells 150 are formed of indium tin oxide (ITO), indium oxide, indium zinc oxide (IZO), tin oxide, zinc oxide zinc oxide, and the like.

The sensing cells 150 may be formed by forming a first conductive film on the second substrate 140 and then patterning the first conductive film. The first conductive layer may be formed by performing a sputtering process, an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process, a pulsed laser deposition (PLD) process, a vacuum deposition process, or the like.

The conductive patterns 160 may be disposed on the top of the sealing member 190. However, this is merely an example, and the positions at which the conductive patterns 160 are disposed are not limited thereto. The conductive patterns 160 may be disposed anywhere on the second substrate 140 in the non-emission region avoiding the emission region I. [ The conductive patterns 160 may be electrically connected to the sensing cells 150. Further, it can be electrically connected to an external driving circuit such as a position detecting circuit through a pad portion or the like. In one embodiment, the conductive patterns 160 may comprise a low resistance metal material that is beneficial for electrical signal transmission. For example, the conductive patterns 160 may include at least one of molybdenum (Mo), silver (Ag), titanium (Ti), copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), molybdenum / aluminum / molybdenum Al / Mo) and the like.

The conductive patterns 160 may be formed by forming a second conductive film on the second substrate 140 and then patterning the second conductive film. Meanwhile, the second conductive layer can be obtained by performing a sputtering process, an ALD process, a PLD process, a vacuum deposition process, or the like.

The first protective layer 170 may be disposed on the second substrate 140 to cover the sensing cells 150 and the conductive patterns 160. The first protective layer 170 may serve to protect the sensing cells 150 and the conductive patterns 160 from physical and chemical damage due to external factors. In one embodiment, the first passivation layer 170 may comprise silicon oxide (SiOx) or silicon nitride (SiNx).

The first passivation layer 170 may be formed on the second substrate 140 by using a silicon compound such as silicon oxide, silicon nitride or silicon oxynitride and performing a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) A plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process, a high density plasma-chemical vapor deposition (HDP-CVD) process, or the like.

The second passivation layer 200 may be disposed on a portion of the first passivation layer 170 to cover the edge conductive patterns located at the corners of the display panel 100. The second protective layer 200 may serve to prevent thermal damage of the peripheral circuits 134 and the second electrode, which are generated by the edge conductive patterns reflecting the laser beam. In one embodiment, the second protective film 200 may have a structure in which a light-transmitting inorganic layer 204 is laminated on a conductive layer 202 having light transmission properties. The conductive layer 202 may include a transparent electrode material such as indium tin oxide, indium oxide, indium zinc oxide, tin oxide, and zinc oxide. In one embodiment, the inorganic layer 204 may comprise silicon oxide or silicon nitride as a light-transmissive material. However, this is only an illustrative example, and the material constituting the conductive layer 202 and the inorganic layer 204 is not limited to a material having a light-transmitting property. For example, the conductive layer 202 may comprise a variety of metallic materials capable of reducing laser beam reflection of edge conductive patterns.

The structure of the second passivation layer 200 is not limited thereto. The second passivation layer 200 may include various lamination structures that can reduce the reflection of the laser beams of the corner conductive patterns . In one embodiment, the second protective film 200 may include a structure in which only a conductive layer 202 having a light-transmitting property or an inorganic layer 204 having a light-transmitting property is formed as a single film. In another embodiment, the second protective film 200 may include a structure in which a light-transmitting conductive layer is laminated on an inorganic light-transmitting layer. In another embodiment, the second protective film 200 may include a structure in which an insulating layer is laminated on a first conductive layer having light transmittance, and a second conductive layer having light transmittance is laminated on the insulating layer. The insulating layer serves to prevent the first and second conductive layers from being electrically short-circuited, and may be an organic insulating layer or an inorganic insulating layer.

The conductive layer 202 and the organic layer 204 included in the second protective film 204 may be formed by a process such as patterning using a mask.

As described above, the display panel 100 according to the embodiments of the present invention includes a first protective layer 170 that forms corner conductive patterns and a second protective layer 200 that is disposed on the first protective layer 170 . Particularly, the second protective film 200 can suppress the laser beam reflection of the corner portion conductive patterns generated during the sealing process of the display panel 100, and prevent the laser beam from concentrating at the corner of the display panel 100 . As a result, the sealing region IV to which the laser beam is irradiated on the display panel 100 can maintain the uniform heat-temperature characteristic over the entire region, and the peripheral circuits 134, which overlap with the sealing member 190, Can be prevented. Further, the intensity of the laser beam can be increased, and the reliability of the sealing structure can be improved.

3 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a second protective film included in the display panel of FIG.

Referring to FIG. 3, the display panel 100 may include corner conductive patterns 165, a first passivation layer 170, and a second passivation layer 300 on a second substrate 140.

The corner portion conductive patterns 165 may be disposed overlapping with the sealing member disposed under the second substrate 140. The corner portion conductive patterns 165 may be electrically connected to the sensing cells. Further, it can be electrically connected to an external driving circuit such as a position detecting circuit through a pad portion or the like. In one embodiment, the corner conductive patterns 165 may comprise a low resistance metal material that is beneficial for electrical signal transmission. For example, the corner portion conductive patterns 165 may include molybdenum, silver, titanium, copper, aluminum, molybdenum / aluminum / molybdenum, and the like.

On the other hand, the first protective layer 170 may be disposed on the second substrate 140 to cover the conductive patterns including the sensing cells and the corner conductive patterns 165. The first protective film 170 may serve to protect the sensing cells and the conductive patterns from physical and chemical damage due to external factors. In one embodiment, the first passivation layer 170 may comprise silicon oxide or silicon nitride.

The second passivation layer 300 may be disposed on a portion of the first passivation layer 170 to cover the edge conductive patterns 165. The second protective film 300 may prevent the thermal damage of the peripheral circuits and the second electrode, which are generated by the edge conductive patterns 165 reflecting the laser beam.

In one embodiment, the second protective film 300 may be a light-transmitting conductive layer. Accordingly, the second protective layer 300 may include a transparent electrode material such as indium tin oxide, indium oxide, indium zinc oxide, tin oxide, and zinc oxide. However, this is merely an example, and the material included in the conductive layer constituting the second protective film 300 is not limited to a material having light transmittance. For example, the second protective film 300 may include various metal materials capable of reducing the laser beam reflection of the corner conductive patterns 165. The second passivation layer 300 may be formed by forming a conductive layer on the first passivation layer 170 and then patterning the conductive layer. Meanwhile, the conductive layer can be obtained by performing a sputtering process, an ALD process, a PLD process, a vacuum deposition process, or the like.

In another embodiment, the second protective film 300 may be an inorganic light-transmitting layer. For example, the second protective film 300 may include silicon oxide or silicon nitride. The second passivation layer 300 may be formed by forming an inorganic layer on the first passivation layer 170 and then patterning the inorganic layer.

4 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the second protective film included in the display panel of FIG.

4, the display panel 100 may include corner conductive patterns 165, a first passivation layer 170, and a second passivation layer 400 on a second substrate 140.

The corner portion conductive patterns 165 may be disposed overlapping with the sealing member disposed under the second substrate 140. On the other hand, the first protective layer 170 may be disposed on the second substrate 140 to cover the conductive patterns including the sensing cells and the corner conductive patterns 165. However, since the corner portion conductive patterns 165 and the first protective film 170 have been described above, a duplicate description thereof will be omitted.

The second protective film 400 may be disposed on a part of the first protective film 170 to cover the edge conductive patterns 165. [ The second protective film 400 may serve to prevent thermal damage of the peripheral circuits and the second electrode generated by the edge conductive patterns 165 reflecting the laser beam.

The second protective layer 400 may be formed by stacking an insulating layer 404 on a first conductive layer 402 having light transmittance and a second conductive layer 406 having light transmittance on the insulating layer 404, May have a laminated structure.

The first conductive layer 402 and the second conductive layer 406 may include a transparent electrode material such as indium tin oxide, indium oxide, indium zinc oxide, tin oxide, zinc oxide, or the like as a light-transmitting material.

The insulating layer 404 may include silicon oxide or silicon nitride as a light-transmitting material. Alternatively, the insulating layer 404 may include an organic material having transparency such as an acrylic resin, a polyimide resin, a siloxane resin, Benzo Cyclobutene (BCB), or the like. The insulating layer 404 can prevent the display panel from being defective by blocking the electrical connection between the first conductive layer 402 and the second conductive layer 406.

5 is a plan view showing a display panel according to embodiments of the present invention.

5, the display panel 100 may be divided into a light emitting region I, a circuit region II surrounding the light emitting region I, and a peripheral region III surrounding the circuit region II . In addition, the display panel 100 may include a sealing region IV located over a part of the circuit region II and a portion of the peripheral region III.

The sealing region IV may be a cell sealing region in which a sealing member for sealing the organic light emitting device and the pixel circuit disposed in the light emitting region I is disposed. The sealing region IV may be a region spanning a part of the circuit region II and a portion of the peripheral region III. The sealing region IV may be spaced apart from the luminescent region I by a certain distance and may entirely surround the luminescent region I. [ That is, the sealing region IV may form a closed loop surrounding four sides of the luminescent region I. Thus, the sealing region IV can form a plurality of corner portions. On the other hand, the circuit region II may partially overlap with the sealing region IV. Therefore, the sum of the areas of the circuit region II and the sealing region IV which are non-display regions (i.e., non-emission regions) can be reduced.

As shown in Fig. 5, in the sealing process, the second protective films 520, 540, 560, and 580 are formed to prevent thermal damage to the peripheral circuits disposed at the corners of the display panel 500 by laser beam irradiation. May be disposed at the respective corner portions. The second protective films 520, 540, 560, and 580 can prevent the laser beam from being focused on the corner portions of the display panel 100.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of manufacturing a display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 7 to 10 are cross-sectional views illustrating a method of manufacturing the display panel of FIG.

6 to 10, the method of manufacturing the display panel of FIG. 6 includes preparing a first substrate 120 (S110), forming a plurality of organic layers (not shown) disposed in the light emitting region I on the first substrate 120, The sensing cells 150 and the conductive patterns are formed on the second substrate 140 at step S130 and the sensing cells 150 and the sensing cells 150 are formed at the second substrate 140, A first passivation layer 170 may be formed to cover the conductive patterns S140 and a second passivation layer may be formed on the first passivation layer 170 to cover the edge conductive patterns 165 S150. 6, the sealing member 190 is disposed (S160) over the circuit area I and the peripheral area III of the lower surface of the second substrate 140, The space between the first substrate 120 and the second substrate 140 is sealed S180 by irradiating the sealing member 190 with a laser beam so that the second substrate 140 is opposed to the first substrate 120 )can do.

7, the first substrate 120 is prepared (S110), and the organic light emitting devices 130 are formed on the first substrate 120 (S120). The first substrate 120 may include a light emitting region I, a circuit region II, and a peripheral region III. The first substrate 120 may include a transparent substrate. For example, the first substrate 120 may include a glass substrate, a transparent plastic substrate, a transparent ceramic substrate, and the like. In one embodiment, the first substrate 120 may be made of a flexible substrate.

The pixel circuit 132 including the first transistor T1, the second transistor T2 and the first capacitor C1 may be formed in the light emitting region I on the first substrate 120. [ The pixel circuit 132 may supply the electrical signals such that the organic light emitting elements 130 implement the pixel.

In addition, peripheral circuits 134 including the third transistor T3 and the signal wiring patterns may be formed in the circuit region II on the first substrate 120. [

On the other hand, a reflection pattern 195 may be formed in the peripheral region III on the first substrate 120. The reflective pattern 195 may comprise a metal such as aluminum, magnesium, silver, platinum, gold, chromium, tungsten, molybdenum, titanium, palladium, alloys thereof or doped polysilicon. The peripheral region III may be an area surrounding the circuit region II outside the circuit region II.

Thereafter, the organic light emitting elements 130 may be formed on the pixel circuits 132 in the luminescent region I. The organic light emitting devices 130 may receive various signals from the pixel circuits 132 and the peripheral circuits 134 to implement various pixels. The organic light emitting devices 130 may include first electrodes, organic light emitting structures, and a second electrode.

8, a plurality of sensing cells 150 and a plurality of conductive patterns 160 are formed on a second substrate 140 (S130), a first protective film 170 is formed (S140) . The second substrate 140 may comprise a material that is substantially the same as or similar to the first substrate 120. In one embodiment, the second substrate 140 may serve as a sealing substrate for sealing the organic light emitting elements 130 disposed on the first substrate 120.

In one embodiment, a plurality of sensing cells 150 may be formed on the second substrate 140 within the light emitting region I, and a plurality of sensing cells 150 may be formed on the second substrate 140, The conductive patterns 160 may be formed. In one embodiment, the conductive patterns 160 may be disposed on the top of the sealing member, that is, above the sealing region IV, which is a region formed over a portion of the circuit region and a portion of the peripheral region.

The sensing cells 150 may be formed in a dispersed manner on the light-emitting region I. In one embodiment, the sensing cells 150 may be formed of a transparent electrode material so that light can be transmitted from the organic light emitting devices 130 disposed below. In one embodiment, the sensing cells 150 may include ITO, IZO, indium oxide, tin oxide, zinc oxide, and the like. The sensing cells 150 may be formed by forming a first conductive film on the second substrate 140 and then patterning the first conductive film. Meanwhile, the first conductive layer can be obtained by performing a sputtering process, an ALD process, a PLD process, a vacuum deposition process, or the like.

The conductive patterns 160 may be electrically connected to the sensing cells 150. Further, it can be electrically connected to an external driving circuit such as a position detecting circuit through a pad portion or the like. In one embodiment, the conductive patterns 160 may comprise a low resistance metal material that is beneficial for electrical signal transmission. For example, the conductive patterns 160 may include molybdenum, silver, titanium, copper, aluminum, molybdenum / aluminum / molybdenum, and the like. The conductive patterns 160 may be formed by forming a second conductive film on the second substrate 140 and then patterning the second conductive film. Meanwhile, the second conductive layer can be obtained by performing a sputtering process, an ALD process, a PLD process, a vacuum deposition process, or the like.

The first protective layer 170 may be formed on the second substrate 140 to cover the sensing cells 150 and the conductive patterns 160. In one embodiment, the first passivation layer 170 may comprise silicon oxide or silicon nitride. For example, the first protective film 170 may be formed on the second substrate 140 through a CVD process, a PECVD process, an HDP-CVD process, or the like using a silicon compound such as silicon oxide, silicon nitride, or silicon oxynitride .

As shown in FIG. 9, the second protective layer 200 may be formed on the first protective layer 170 (S150). The second passivation layer 200 may be formed on a portion of the first passivation layer 140 to cover the corner conductive patterns 165 located at the corners of the display panel 100. The second protective layer 200 may prevent thermal damage to the peripheral circuits 134 and the second electrode disposed at the corner portions in the sealing process. In one embodiment, a light-transmissive conductive layer 202 is formed on the first protective film 175 to cover the corner conductive patterns 165, and on the conductive layer 202, a light- The second protective film 200 may be formed by forming the first protective film 204. The conductive layer 202 may include a transparent electrode material such as indium tin oxide, indium oxide, indium zinc oxide, tin oxide, and zinc oxide. In one embodiment, the inorganic layer 204 may comprise silicon oxide or silicon nitride as a light-transmissive material. However, this is merely an example, and the material constituting the conductive layer 202 and the inorganic layer 204 is not limited to a material having a light-transmitting property. For example, the conductive layer 202 may include various metallic materials capable of reducing the laser beam reflection of the edge conductive patterns 165. The structure of the second protective layer 200 is not limited thereto. The second protective layer 200 may be formed in various lamination structures capable of reducing laser beam reflection of the corner conductive patterns 165 .

In one embodiment, the second protective film 200 may include a structure in which only a conductive layer 202 having a light-transmitting property or an inorganic layer 204 having a light-transmitting property is formed as a single film. In another embodiment, a light-transmissive inorganic layer is formed on the first protective film 170 to cover the corner portion conductive patterns 165, and a light-transmissive conductive layer may be formed on the inorganic layer . In another embodiment, a first conductive layer having light transmittance is formed on the first protective layer 170 to cover the corner conductive patterns 165, an insulating layer is formed on the first conductive layer, And a second conductive layer having light transmittance may be formed on the insulating layer. The insulating layer serves to prevent the first and second conductive layers from being electrically short-circuited, and may include an organic material or an inorganic material.

The conductive layer 202 and the organic layer 204 included in the second protective film 200 may be formed by a process such as patterning using a mask.

10, the sealing member 190 is disposed on the lower surface of the second substrate 140 (S160), the second substrate 140 is disposed to face the first substrate 120 (S170) The first substrate 120 and the second substrate 140 may be sealed (S180). Specifically, a sealing member 190 is disposed in a region extending from a portion of the circuit region II and a portion of the peripheral region III (that is, the sealing region IV) in the lower surface of the second substrate 140 . The sealing member 190 may include a glass frit or the like.

Meanwhile, the spacer and the second electrode of the first substrate 120 may be arranged to contact the rear surface of the second substrate 140. That is, the distance between the first substrate 120 and the second substrate 140 can be adjusted by the height of the spacer. Therefore, the sensing cells 150 can be disposed on the light emitting region I including the organic light emitting elements 130 and the sealing cells 150 formed on the sealing region 150 formed on a part of the circuit region II and a part of the peripheral region III. The corner portion conductive patterns 165 may be disposed on the upper portion of the corner portion of the semiconductor substrate IV.

Thereafter, the space between the first substrate 100 and the second substrate 200 can be sealed by irradiating the sealing region IV with a laser beam. The laser beam can melt the sealing member 190 so that the shape of the sealing member 190 is deformed to fill the space between the first and second substrates 120 and 140, The first substrate 120 and the second substrate 140 can be properly sealed.

The laser beam may be partially reflected by the conductive patterns. Therefore, the strength of the laser beam can be adjusted to such a degree that the sealing member 190 can be sufficiently melted in consideration of the conductive patterns.

On the other hand, the laser beam can be reflected by the reflection pattern 195 disposed in the peripheral region III. Since the reflection pattern 195 is disposed under the sealing member 250, the laser beam reflected by the reflection pattern 195 can effectively melt the lower portion of the sealing member 190.

As described above, the manufacturing method of the display panel according to the embodiments of the present invention includes the step of forming the second protective film 200 on the first protective film 170 to cover the corner conductive patterns 165 can do. As a result, in the sealing process of the display panel, thermal damage caused by the laser beam or the like generated at the second electrode or the peripheral circuit located under the edge portion conductive patterns 165 can be prevented.

The present invention can be applied to all display devices having a touch panel. For example, the present invention can be applied to a television, a personal computer, a notebook, a tablet PC, a mobile phone, a smart phone, a smart pad, a PDA, a PMP, a digital camera, a portable game console,

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined in the following claims. It can be understood that it is possible.

100: display panel 120: first substrate
130: organic light emitting devices 132: pixel circuit
134: peripheral circuit 140: second substrate
150: sensing cell 160: conductive pattern
165: edge portion conductive pattern 170: first protective film
190: sealing member 195: reflection pattern
200: Second protective film

Claims (18)

A display panel divided into a light emitting region, a circuit region surrounding the light emitting region, and a peripheral region surrounding the circuit region,
A first substrate;
A second substrate disposed to face the first substrate;
A plurality of organic light emitting elements formed on the first substrate and disposed in the light emitting region;
A sealing member sealing a space between the first substrate and the second substrate, the sealing member being disposed over a portion of the circuit region and a portion of the peripheral region;
A plurality of sensing cells formed on the second substrate and disposed in the light emitting region;
A plurality of conductive patterns formed on the second substrate and disposed on the sealing member;
A first protective layer disposed on the second substrate to cover the sensing cells and the conductive patterns; And
And a second protective layer disposed on the first protective layer to cover corner conductive patterns located at corners of the display panel among the conductive patterns. The display panel according to claim 1, wherein the first protective film comprises silicon oxide (SiOx) or silicon nitride (SiNx). The display panel according to claim 1, wherein the second protective film comprises a conductive layer having light transmittance. The method of claim 3, wherein the conductive layer is formed of a material selected from the group consisting of indium tin oxide (ITO), indium oxide, indium zinc oxide (IZO), tin oxide, oxide. < / RTI > The display panel according to claim 1, wherein the second protective film comprises a light-transmitting inorganic layer. The display panel according to claim 5, wherein the inorganic layer comprises silicon oxide or silicon nitride. The display panel according to claim 1, wherein the second protective film has a structure in which a light-transmitting inorganic layer is laminated on a light-transmitting conductive layer. The display panel according to claim 1, wherein the second protective film has a structure in which a light-transmitting conductive layer is laminated on a light-transmitting inorganic layer. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the second protective film has a structure in which an insulating layer is laminated on a first conductive layer having light transmittance, and a second conductive layer having light transmittance is laminated on the insulating layer. . A manufacturing method of a display panel for manufacturing a display panel divided into a light emitting region, a circuit region surrounding the light emitting region, and a peripheral region surrounding the circuit region,
Preparing a first substrate;
Forming a plurality of organic light emitting elements located in the light emitting region on the first substrate;
Forming a plurality of sensing cells located in the light emitting region on a second substrate;
Forming a plurality of conductive patterns over a portion of the circuit region and a portion of the peripheral region on the second substrate;
Forming a first protective layer on the second substrate to cover the sensing cells and the conductive patterns;
Forming a second protective film on the first protective film to cover corner conductive patterns located at corner portions of the display panel among the conductive patterns;
Disposing a sealing member over a portion of the circuit region and a portion of the peripheral region on the second substrate bottom surface;
Disposing a second substrate to face the first substrate; And
And sealing the space between the first substrate and the second substrate by irradiating the sealing member with a laser beam. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the first passivation layer comprises silicon oxide (SiOx) or silicon nitride (SiNx). The display panel manufacturing method according to claim 10, wherein the second protective film comprises a conductive layer having light transmittance. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the conductive layer is formed of indium tin oxide (ITO), indium oxide, indium zinc oxide (IZO), tin oxide, or zinc oxide oxide). < / RTI > The method of manufacturing a display panel according to claim 10, wherein the second protective film comprises a light-transmitting inorganic layer. 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the inorganic layer comprises silicon oxide or silicon nitride. The method of claim 10, wherein forming the second passivation layer comprises:
Forming a conductive layer having light transmittance to cover the corner portion conductive patterns on the first protective film; And
And forming an inorganic layer having light transmittance on the conductive layer. The method of claim 10, wherein forming the second passivation layer comprises:
Forming an inorganic light-transmitting layer on the first protective film to cover the edge conductive patterns; And
And forming a conductive layer having light transmittance on the inorganic layer. The method of claim 10, wherein forming the second passivation layer comprises:
Forming a first conductive layer having light transmittance on the first protective film to cover the edge conductive patterns;
Forming an insulating layer on the first conductive layer; And
And forming a second conductive layer having light transmittance on the insulating layer.

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