KR20170135650A - Organic Light Emitting Display Device and Method for Repairing the Same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an organic light emitting display device including a structure capable of easily repairing defective pixels, and a repair method thereof. A source connection electrode is shared in one node of an active layer by including the active layer extended long in one direction and a sensing transistor and a driving transistor are located on both sides of the one node. In the organic light emitting display device, energy consumed for a repair process is reduced by performing a repair operation by cutting the one node of the active layer when a bright point defect is generated and a cutting number is reduced. Damage to an organic light emitting diode can be prevented.

Description

Technical Field [0001] The present invention relates to an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display device and a method of repairing the same,

And more particularly, to an organic light emitting display having a structure that is easy to repair defective pixels and a repair method thereof.

2. Description of the Related Art [0002] As an information-oriented society develops, there have been various demands for a display device for displaying images. Recently, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP) Various display devices such as an organic light emitting display (OLED) and the like are being utilized. Such various display apparatuses include display panels corresponding thereto.

Among these, the organic light emitting display device is advantageous in that it is slim or flexible and has good color purity because it does not require a separate light source unit as a self light emitting device.

Such an organic light emitting display device includes an organic light emitting diode to emit light. The organic light emitting diode OLED includes two different electrodes and a light emitting layer therebetween. When electrons generated in one electrode and holes generated in the other electrode are injected into the light emitting layer, The excitons are generated by the combination of the holes, and the generated excitons are emitted while falling from the excited state to the ground state.

The organic light emitting display includes a driving thin film transistor connected to the organic light emitting diode in each pixel for controlling the organic light emitting diode, the organic thin film transistor including an organic light emitting diode individually in a plurality of pixels on a matrix defined in the substrate, have.

On the other hand, in the organic light emitting display device, a conductive foreign matter remains due to defects during the formation process, and a bright point may appear, which causes defective display. Therefore, a repair process such as igniting a pixel in which a conductive foreign matter occurs is ignited To be applied.

However, the repair process proceeds by cutting the wiring and the electrode of the corresponding pixel where the defect occurs. In order to cut the wiring and the electrode, high-temperature energy is required. In this process, the organic light emitting diode near the cutting portion is damaged There is a problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display device having a structure capable of repairing defective pixels, a repair method thereof, and an OLED display device using the repair.

The organic light emitting display of the present invention includes an active layer extended in one direction to share a source connection electrode at one node of the active layer and positions the sensing transistor and the driving transistor on both sides of one node.

In addition, the repairing method of the organic light emitting diode display of the present invention is a method of repairing an organic light emitting diode by cutting one node of an active layer at the time of occurrence of a luminescent spot to perform repairing, thereby reducing energy required for a repairing process, .

To this end, the OLED display device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a substrate having a plurality of sub-pixels; a plurality of first lines arranged in a direction intersecting each other around the sub- An active layer adjacent to the second line and overlapping the first line with a certain width; and a source line connected to the sub-pixel at a first node of the active layer, A driving transistor, a sensing transistor, and at least one sub-pixel, each of which includes an electrode, and which is divided on the active layer, electrically isolates the driving transistor from the sensing transistor, Section.

The cutting unit may be provided by removing the active layer from the first node.

In the cutting portion, the driving transistor and the source connection electrode of the sensing transistor may be separated from each other.

The organic light emitting display may further include an inorganic protective layer covering the driving transistor and the sensing transistor on the upper side of the cutting portion. The organic insulating layer may include an organic insulating layer located on the inorganic protective layer and having an open region in the cut portion.

In the cutting portion, the source connection electrode is a metal closest to the substrate.

Further, in the cutting portion, the source connection electrode can be separated from the active layer.

The driving transistor further includes a driving drain electrode protruding from the second line and connected to the active layer and a driving gate electrode crossing the source connecting electrode and the active layer, A sensing drain electrode connected to the active layer and a source connection electrode, respectively.

And a storage capacitor including a first storage electrode extending from the driving gate electrode and filling a region of the sub pixel, and a second storage electrode overlapping the first storage electrode and extending from the source connection electrode.

In order to achieve the same object, the repairing method of the organic light emitting display of the present invention is characterized in that the repairing method of irradiating the first node of the active layer with a laser so as to electrically isolate the driving transistor from the sensing transistor have.

As another example, there is provided a method of driving a plasma display panel, comprising the steps of: detecting a luminescent spot of a plurality of sub-pixels on the substrate; irradiating the first node of the active layer with a laser beam so that the driving transistor and the sensing transistor are electrically separated from each other; And cutting the wafer.

In this case, irradiation of the laser can be performed from the lower side of the substrate to electrically disconnect the active layer from the source connection electrode by burning the active layer.

Alternatively, the irradiation of the laser may be performed from above the substrate to electrically disconnect the driving transistor and the sensing transistor at the first node by driving the source connection electrode and the active layer together.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The organic light emitting diode display and the repair method of the present invention have the following effects.

First, since the portion disappearing by the repairing laser irradiation is limited to the active layer closest to the substrate, the laser irradiation does not affect the organic light emitting diode located on the upper side, Problems such as shrinkage of the light emitting portion can be prevented, and high temperature driving reliability can be obtained.

Second, even if the repair part is located at a specific node of the active layer, the drive transistor and the sensing transistor can be electrically separated from each other, and the supply of current to the anode electrode can be stopped at the same time when cutting the specific node. This makes it possible to reduce the process time and process burden required for the repair process.

Third, the active layer may be shared by the sensing transistor and the driving transistor, and the sensing transistor and the driving transistor may be allocated on the shared active layer to increase the storage area of the storage capacitor occupied by the sub-pixel, thereby increasing the capacity of the storage capacitor .

Fourth, in the upper emission type, the irradiation of the laser is performed on the upper side of the substrate. In order to prevent the outgas during the laser irradiation, the organic film component such as the organic protective film and the bank is opened Area. As a result, the thickness of the component burned upon laser irradiation can be reduced, and outgassing during irradiation can be reduced.

1 is a circuit diagram showing one sub-pixel of an organic light emitting display according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view showing one subpixel according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I '
Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II '
5 is a flowchart showing a repair method of the organic light emitting diode display according to the present invention.
6 is a sectional view of the organic light emitting diode display according to the first embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 7 is a SEM view of the repair application region after the repair application of FIG. 6
8A is a plan view of the organic light emitting display device of the comparative example
8B is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III 'of FIG. 8A;
9A and 9B are cross-sectional views of the organic light emitting diode display according to the second embodiment of the present invention,

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

The following embodiments are provided by way of example so that those skilled in the art can fully understand the spirit of the present invention. 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 reference numerals designate like elements throughout the specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The advantages and features of the present invention and the manner of achieving them will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. To fully disclose the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art, and the invention is only defined by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the specification. The dimensions and relative sizes of the layers and regions in the figures may be exaggerated for clarity of illustration.

It will be understood that when an element or layer is referred to as being another element or "on" or "on ", it includes both intervening layers or other elements in the middle, do. On the other hand, when a device is referred to as "directly on" or "directly above ", it does not intervene another device or layer in the middle.

The terms spatially relative, "below," "lower," "above," "upper," and the like, And may be used to easily describe the correlation with other elements or components. Spatially relative terms should be understood to include, in addition to the orientation shown in the drawings, terms that include different orientations of the device during use or operation. For example, when inverting an element shown in the figures, an element described as "below" or "beneath" of another element may be placed "above" another element. Thus, the exemplary term "below" can include both downward and upward directions.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. In the present specification, the singular form includes plural forms unless otherwise specified in the specification. &Quot; comprise "and / or" comprising ", as used in the specification, means that the presence of stated elements, Or additions.

1 is a circuit diagram showing one sub-pixel of an organic light emitting diode display of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing one subpixel according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I 'of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II' of FIG.

The organic light emitting display of the present invention has a plurality of sub-pixels in a matrix form on a substrate 100, and each sub-pixel has a scan line SL and a data line A sensing line SSL parallel to the scan line SL, a reference voltage line RL, an anode electrode AE opposed to each other, a cathode electrode CE and the anode electrode AE, And an organic light emitting diode (OLED) provided between the cathode electrode and the cathode electrode in response to a sensing signal applied to the sensing line. A switching transistor SS-TR for supplying a data voltage applied to the data line DL to the second node B in response to a scan signal applied to the scan line SL, (OLED) according to the voltage of the second node (B) A first electrode connected to the second node (B), and a second electrode connected to a first node (A) connected to the anode electrode (AE) And includes a storage capacitor Cst.

The sub-pixels may be arranged in the same direction or symmetrically with respect to the transistors and capacitors of FIG. 1 shown in adjacent sub-pixels.

The sensing transistor SS-TR and the driving transistor D-TR share a first active layer (see 111 in FIGS. 2 and 3), and the sensing transistor SS- TR and the driving transistor D-TR are connected together at the same portion of the first active layer 111, that is, at the first node A region. The configuration of the switching transistor (SW-TR) or the storage capacitor (Cst) among the circuit components may have a change in the area or the connection portion to be different from that shown. Therefore, the organic light emitting display device of the present invention notices the configuration and change of the sensing transistor SS-TR and the driving transistor D-TR before and after the repair.

The first active layer 111 is shared by the sensing transistor SS-TR and the driving transistor D-TR and is disposed adjacent to and substantially parallel to the power supply voltage line VDL. The driving transistor D-TR is disposed on the upper side (with reference to the plan view in FIG. 2) and the sensing transistor SS-TR (on the lower side) . Here, the first node A means a portion connected to the source connection electrode of the driving transistor D-TR of the sensing transistor SS-TR in the first active layer 111.

2, the first node A is located substantially at the center of the first active layer 111, but may be positioned at an upper portion or a lower portion. According to the arrangement of the first node A, the size of the driving transistor D-TR and the sensing transistor SS-TR can be determined.

Specifically, the driving transistor D-TR has a driving gate electrode (DG) 123a passing through a part of the first active layer 111, and a driving drain electrode (DD) 131a (VDL) 131, and the driving source electrode DS is provided at the first node A. The driving source electrode

The sensing transistor SS-TR includes a sensing gate electrode SSG integrated with a sensing line (SSL) 122 on the first active layer 111 and a sensing gate electrode SSG integrated with the reference voltage line RL And a sensing source electrode SSS at a first node A which is symmetrically located with the sensing drain electrode SSD 134. [

The driving source electrode DS and the sensing source electrode SSS which are connected to the first node A together with the source connection electrode 133 of an integrated type are connected together to the first active layer 111 .

The source connection electrode 133 is spaced apart from the first active layer 111 and the second active layer 112 and connected to the scan line SL 121, (SSL) 122 and a data line (DL) 132 and a power supply voltage line (VDL) 131, and functions as a second electrode of the storage capacitor.

The driving gate electrode (DG) 123a is formed by protruding from the first electrode 123 of the storage capacitor overlapping the source connection electrode 133 to intersect the first active layer 111. [ The driving gate electrode (DG) 123a is integrated with the first electrode 123 of the storage capacitor.

The switching transistor S-TR, which is not illustrated, is located between the scan line SL 121 and the data line 132, and the scan line SL is connected to the second active layer 112 And includes a switching drain electrode 132a and a switching source electrode 135 connected to both ends of the second active layer 112, respectively.

Here, the scan line (SL) 121 has a switching gate electrode integrally, and has a switching gate electrode at the overlapping portion of the second active layer 112 and the scan line SL.

The switching drain electrode 132a protrudes from the data line DL 132. The switching source electrode 135 is formed in the shape of a star and is connected to the second active layer 112, And is also connected to the first electrode 123 of the storage capacitor, and has the same potential as the second node B. [

A method of manufacturing the organic light emitting display device of the present invention will be briefly described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG.

A buffer layer 105 is formed on the entire surface of the substrate 100 to form a first active layer 111 and a second active layer 112 that are separated from each other by sub-pixels.

The substrate 100 may be a glass substrate or a plastic substrate. When the substrate 100 is a plastic substrate, it may be softened. The substrate 100 may be formed as a single layer or a plurality of layers.

The first and second active layers 111 and 112 are formed by completely depositing amorphous silicon, crystallizing and patterning the amorphous silicon. However, it is not limited to this, and it may be made of an amorphous silicon layer or an oxide semiconductor layer. Meanwhile, in the crystallization process, the buffer layer 105 functions to prevent impurities on the substrate 100 side from flowing into the first and second active layers 111 and 112. Optionally, the buffer layer 105 may be omitted.

The first active layer 111 is a portion where the driving transistor and the sensing transistor are to be formed, and the second active layer 112 is a portion where the switching transistor is to be formed.

Subsequently, a metal layer for an insulating film and a gate line is sequentially formed on the buffer layer 105 including the first and second active layers 111 and 112, and the metal layer is selectively removed by the same mask, The line 121 and the sensing line 122 and the lower gate insulating film 115 are formed. The scan line 121 and the gate insulating layer 115 under the sensing line 122 are formed to have a width wider than the scan line 121 and the sensing line 122. Wherein the scan line 121 is formed across the second active layer 112 and the sensing line 122 is formed across the first active layer 111 such that each of the scan lines 121, So that the switching gate electrode and the sensing gate electrode are defined at the overlapping portion with the layers 112 and 111. In the same process, the first electrode 123 of the storage capacitor, which is spaced apart from the scan line 121 and the sensing line 122 and fills the inner region, is formed in the sub pixel region. The first electrode 123 integrally has a driving gate electrode 123a protruding to cross a part of the first active layer 111. [

3, the scan line 121, the sensing line 122, and the first electrode 123 are formed as a double layer. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a single layer or multiple layers can be applied.

Then, an interlayer insulating layer 125 covering the scan line 121 and the sensing line 122 is deposited.

The scan line 121 including the switching gate electrode and the sensing line 122 including the sensing gate electrode and the first electrode 123 including the driving gate electrode 123a are used as masks, The semiconductor layers 111 and 112 are doped with impurities to define a doped region (not shown).

In some cases, the impurity doping process may be performed immediately after formation of the scan line 121, the sensing line 122, and the first electrode 123. The impurity doped region is a region where the first electrode 123 and the sensing line 122 do not overlap in the first active layer 111 and a region where the first active layer 111 and the sensing line 122 overlap, And the contact hole described below may be provided in this portion.

Then, the interlayer insulating layer 125 is selectively removed to form first through third contact holes 125a, 125b, 125c exposing both ends of the first active layer 111 and the center thereof, Fourth and fifth contact holes 125d and 125e exposing both ends of the layer 111 and a sixth contact hole 125f exposing a part of the first electrode 123 adjacent to the fifth contact hole 125e. ).

Next, a metal layer is deposited on the entire surface and selectively removed to form a data line 132 and a power source voltage line 131 in a direction crossing the scan line 121. In the power source voltage line 131, A driving drain electrode 131a protruding from the first contact hole 125a and extending to the first contact hole 125a and a second contact hole 125b protruding from the first electrode 123 and overlapping the first electrode 123, Which is connected to the first active layer 111 in the third contact hole 125c which is positioned symmetrically with the source connection electrode 125b with the boundary between the source connection electrode 133 and the sensing line 122 extended to the first active layer 111, Drain electrodes 134 are formed. At the same time, the switching drain electrode 132a protruding from the data line 132 and extending to the fourth contact hole 125d and the fifth contact hole 125e and the sixth contact hole 125f together And forms a switching source electrode 135 on the island so as to be connected to the first electrode 123.

Here, the sensing drain electrode 134 may be connected to the reference voltage line extension pattern 124 in the horizontal direction through the seventh contact hole 125g in FIG. However, the connection relation of the sensing drain electrode 134 is an example, and the sensing drain electrode may be provided integrally with the reference voltage line arranged in the longitudinal direction.

In the illustrated example, the R, G, and B sub-pixels or the R, G, B, and W sub-pixels are grouped into one pixel and the reference voltage line RL is not adjacent to the sub- And a reference voltage line is arranged. In other words, the reference voltage line RL may be arranged for every three or four data lines. In this case, the sub-pixels not adjacent to the reference voltage line RL are horizontally arranged in the reference voltage line RL of each group The reference voltage Vref is applied to the sensing drain electrode 134 through the connection of the extended reference voltage line extension pattern 124 and the sensing drain electrode 134.

However, the present invention is not limited to this structure, and the sensing transistor SS-TR and the driving transistor D-TR may be connected to the first active layer 111 of the present invention even when the reference voltage line RL is adjacent to the sub- It is possible to use an example in which the source connection electrode is shared and the repair method described later can be applied.

A portion where the source connection electrode 133 is connected to the first active layer 111 becomes a first node A and the source connection electrode 133 functions as a second electrode of the storage capacitor.

The driving transistor D-TR and the sensing transistor SS-TR are formed above and below the first node A of the first active layer 111 through the above process.

After the driving transistor D-TR and the sensing transistor SS-TR are formed in this way, the inorganic protective film 136 and the organic protective film 137 are formed in order.

The organic passivation layer 137 and the inorganic passivation layer 136 are selectively removed to expose a portion of the source connection electrode 133 to form a passivation layer hole 1370a.

The transparent electrode is deposited on the organic passivation layer 137 including the passivation layer hole 1370a and selectively removed to form an anode electrode connected to the source connection electrode 133 through the passivation layer hole 1370a, 140 are formed.

Next, a bank 141 defining a light emitting portion is formed at a portion of the protective film hole 1370a and outside the anode electrode 140.

Next, an organic layer 142 including an organic light-emitting layer is selectively formed in a plurality of sub-pixels or in a light-emitting portion of each sub-pixel, and then a cathode electrode 143 is formed. The organic layer 142 and the cathode electrode 143 may be formed entirely in the sub-pixel without dividing the region. In this case, the organic layer 142 and the cathode electrode 143 may be formed over the entire active region where the sub-pixels of the substrate 100 are disposed, except for the dead region where the bezel or the driving unit is disposed. In the case of emitting light of different colors using the organic light emitting layer for each sub-pixel, in this case, the deposition mask is varied or shifted for each light emitting sub-pixel for each color, and the organic light emitting layer is separately deposited.

Here, the organic layer may include a common layer of an organic material on the lower and upper portions of the organic light emitting layer, and the common layer may be a single layer or a plurality of layers in each position.

The anode electrode 140, the organic layer 142, and the cathode electrode 143 together form an organic light emitting diode (OLED).

5 is a process flow chart showing a repair method of the organic light emitting diode display of the present invention.

First, an organic light emitting display device of the present invention having a plurality of subpixels having a structure as shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 4 in a matrix form is prepared (110S).

Here, the organic light emitting display device may be an organic light emitting display panel that has been sealed up to prevent moisture from outside, in addition to the configuration of FIGS. 2 to 4. Alternatively, the organic light emitting display panel may be a backlight Lt; / RTI >

Then, the luminescent spot of each subpixel of the OLED display is inspected (120S). The luminescent spot inspection can proceed even in the state of an organic light emitting display device including an organic light emitting diode and an organic light emitting diode that adds a structure of a backplane substrate including a wiring, a transistor, and an anode electrode to each sub pixel, It can proceed even in the state of the backplane substrate formed up to the electrode. Since the organic light emitting layer undergoes vapor deposition of evaporation differently from the lower backplane substrate and the deterioration phenomenon may be large in moisture or outside air, the following spot inspection for the repair process may be performed in advance on the backplane substrate Or may proceed further in the state of the backplane substrate, and further in the state of the completed panel to the encapsulation.

In step 130S, the active layer of the first node (A) in FIG. 1 is cut by the sub-pixel observed as the bright spot in the bright spot inspection to perform dark repair (130S).

The repair is performed by cutting a portion of the first active layer 111 where the sensing transistor SS-TR and the driving transistor D-TR are connected together. The repair at this time is performed by the first active layer The source connection electrodes of the sensing transistor SS-TR and the driving transistor D-TR are separated from the remaining active layer after the repair, so that the first node portion of the sensing transistor SS-111 is burned and lost.

In this case, the pattern to be repaired is the first active layer 111, which is the pattern closest to the substrate on which the patterning is performed, and can be repaired with energy lower than that of the metal. Even if there is a portion where the metal is stacked on the upper layer, By controlling the energy, the metal in the upper layer is kept in an effective state, and only the active layer can be cut. Therefore, after the repair, the influence of the organic light emitting diode formed after the thin film transistor does not occur, and problems such as shrinkage of the light emitting pixel which occurred in cutting the conventional wiring or the electrode can be prevented.

In addition, the irradiation area at the time of repairing is adjusted so that the active layer is disconnected from the active layer at one portion where the sensing transistor SS-TR and the driving transistor D-TR are connected, and the sensing transistor SS -TR and the driving transistor D-TR can be separated from the anode electrode of the organic light emitting diode, so that the process and time required for the repair process can be reduced.

In the meantime, although the repair method described above shows a method of repairing subpixels inspected with spots, it is also possible to perform inspection of abnormal subpixels indicated by the dark points when the subpixels are turned on. When the sub pixel (s) more than the dark point remains on the display panel without being repaired, the same reference voltage line as the sub pixel with the dark point may affect the adjacent sub pixels connected thereto. In the repair method of the present invention, Pixels connected to the sensing transistor and the driving transistor of the active layer in the above-described manner are eliminated to ignite the corresponding sub-pixel and are electrically separated from the adjacent sub-pixels to repair the ideal sub-pixel, The influence of the characteristics of the driving transistor of adjacent sub-pixels is blocked.

Hereinafter, the shape of the OLED display according to the present invention after repairing will be described in detail with reference to plan and sectional views of the OLED display of the present invention.

* Repairing method of organic light emitting diode display according to the first embodiment *

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I 'of FIG. 2 after repairing the organic light emitting diode display according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 6, the organic light emitting display device after repair according to the first embodiment of the present invention is provided with a plurality of sub-pixels, each of which is adjacent to the power supply voltage line VDL, (D-Tr) and a sensing transistor (SS-TR), which are separately disposed on the first active layer 111, each including a source connection electrode 133 connected at a first node of the active layer 111, ) Of the first active layer (111) to electrically isolate at least one sub-pixel from the driving transistor (D-TR) and the sensing transistor (SS-TR) A (see the circuit diagram of Fig.

The cutting portion is provided by removing the first active layer 111 from the first node.

Since the first active layer 111 is irradiated with a laser and is burned and lost in the repairing process, the source connection electrode 133 becomes a metal closest to the substrate 100 in the repairing process . The source connection electrode 133 is separated from the first node A by the disappearance of the lower first active layer 111 and the first active layer 111 is separated from the driving transistor D- And the sensing transistor SS-TR are connected only to the first active layer 111 after repairing and the electrodes on one side of the sensing drain electrode 134 and the driving drain electrode 131a, respectively. That is, in the first node A, the connection between the source connection electrode 133 and the second contact hole 125b is disconnected, and electrical open occurs at this portion, and the driving transistor D- (S-TR) are electrically disconnected because they are disconnected from the source connection electrode 133, respectively. Thus, at the cutting portion, the source connecting electrode 133 is separated from the first active layer 111, thus blocking the current supply to the first node A of the first active layer 111, Current is not transmitted to the anode electrode (AE) 140 which is electrically connected to the pixel electrode 133, so that the corresponding sub-pixel is darkened.

The repairing method of the organic light emitting display according to the present invention is characterized in that the first node of the active layer is irradiated with a laser to electrically disconnect the driving transistor and the sensing transistor to generate a cutting portion.

In order to determine a sub-pixel to be repaired before repairing, the step of detecting the luminescent spot of a plurality of sub-pixels on the substrate is performed first, and the repair process described above is performed on the sub-pixel for which the luminescent spot is detected .

In this case, irradiation of the laser can be performed from the lower side of the substrate to electrically disconnect the active layer from the source connection electrode by burning the active layer.

FIG. 7 is a SEM view of a repair application site after the repair application of FIG. 6;

As shown in Fig. 7, when the first active layer under the source connection electrode is irradiated with a laser to remove the first active layer of the first node A, the first active layer on both sides is disconnected . In this case, it can be confirmed that only the first active layer is changed after laser irradiation. It is expected that no influence is exerted on the upper inorganic protective film or the organic protective film and that the anode electrode and the organic light emitting layer located on the upper side are not affected.

In order to explain the effects of the organic light emitting diode display of the present invention, a comparative example will be described. Hereinafter, the comparative example described is the closest example of the organic light emitting display of the present invention and shows the most similar related art to which the repair is applied although not disclosed.

FIG. 8A is a plan view of the organic light emitting diode display of the comparative example, and FIG. 8B is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III 'of FIG. 8A.

8A and 8B, the organic light emitting display device according to the comparative example is provided with the sensing transistor SS-TR and the driving transistor D-TR on the substrate 1 including the buffer layer 5, The first and second active layers 11 and 12 are provided so as to divide the driving transistor D-TR and the sensing transistor SS-TR to separate the first and second active layers 11 and 12, Is sufficiently long in the vertical direction. Thus, the source connection electrode 33, which serves as one electrode of the storage capacitor, passes through the region between the first and second active layers 11 and 12 and is connected to the first and second active layers 11 and 12 , There is no overlap of the first electrode 23 at this connection portion, and there is a capacity loss of the storage capacitance at this portion.

On the other hand, in the organic light emitting display of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the first active layer 111 is positioned below the sub-pixel, and the upper portion of the sub- Overlapping portions of the first electrode 123 and the source connection electrode 133 may be provided in the sub-pixel to improve the storage capacitance capacity in the entire sub-pixel.

According to the comparative example, cutting is performed on one electrode (sensing drain electrode) of the anode electrode AE and the sensing transistor SS-TR as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, Two cuts are required, and the repair has a burden on the process. That is, when only the drain electrode of the sensing transistor SS-TR is cut, one side of the driving transistor D-TR, in which the sensing transistor SS-TR and the active layer are separated, is applied to the power source voltage line, The anode electrode 40 of the organic light emitting diode OLED is directly cut since the current can be supplied to the anode electrode 40 connected to the driving transistor D- .

On the other hand, in the organic light emitting diode display of the present invention, since the first active layer 111 is elongated and the driving transistor and the sensing transistor are shared and connected, only the portion of the first active layer 111 is cut once, So that the ease and speed of the repair process can be secured. That is, a source electrically isolated from the first active layer 111 at the first node A of the first active layer 111, which is connected in common by the driving transistor D-TR and the sensing transistor SS-TR, Since the connection electrode 133 and the anode electrode 140 are connected to each other and have the same potential, the supply of current to the anode electrode AE is cut off even if only the first active layer 111 of this portion is cut, It is possible to make the bar.

In the comparative example, when the anode electrode 40 is cut, when the anode electrode 40 is laser-irradiated by cutting off the anode electrode 40 due to the characteristic of the anode electrode 40 which is directly adjacent to or almost adjacent to the organic layer 42, The energy of the laser irradiation may damage the organic layer 42 on the image side, and the light emitting portion may be reduced in time. However, in the organic light emitting diode display of the present invention, since the cutting is performed by irradiating only a part of the first active layer patterned closest to the substrate 100, the laser irradiation in the repair process is performed after the bank 141 It hardly affects the formed organic layer 142, and reliability of the device can be obtained.

In addition, in the comparative example, the energy required to remove the metal during the laser irradiation is required. However, the organic light emitting display of the present invention requires energy to dissipate the active layer, not the metal. The irradiation energy can be reduced.

Reference numeral 13 denotes a third active layer, reference numeral 21 denotes a scanning line, reference numeral 24 denotes a sensing line, reference numeral 24 denotes a reference voltage line extension pattern, reference numeral 31a denotes a driving drain electrode, reference numeral 34a denotes a sensing drain electrode, reference numeral 31 denotes a reference voltage Reference numeral 32 denotes a data line, numeral 35 denotes a switching source electrode, numeral 23a denotes a driving gate electrode, numeral 40 denotes an anode electrode, numeral 15 denotes a gate insulating film, numeral 25 denotes an interlayer insulating film, numeral 36 denotes an inorganic protective film, numeral 37 denotes an organic protective film, numeral 41 denotes a bank, An organic layer 43, and a cathode electrode 43.

In the repairing method of the OLED display according to the first embodiment, the laser irradiation is performed on the lower side of the substrate 100, but the laser irradiation can be performed on the upper side of the substrate 100. Particularly, in the bottom emission type, the lower side of the substrate 100 is transparent, and it is easy for the repair to proceed after the observation of the dark spot in this region. In the case of the upper emission type, the lower side of the substrate 100 is not the emission direction Therefore, it is difficult to observe the defect directly. Therefore, the repair method of the organic light emitting diode display according to the second embodiment of the present invention, in which a laser is irradiated and repaired at an upper part of the upper emission scheme, will be described.

* Repairing method of organic light emitting display according to the second embodiment *

9A and 9B are cross-sectional views of the organic light emitting diode display according to the second embodiment of the present invention before and after applying the repair method.

9A, in the organic light emitting diode display according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the sensing transistor SS-TR and the driving transistor D-TR are connected to each sub-pixel in the array forming process An open region is formed in the organic protective film 137 and the bank 141 of the organic film component located on the upper side of the first node A. [

This open area may be a kind of hole shape in which the organic protective film 137 and the bank 141 are partially removed in a plan view.

In this case, the organic layer 142 and the cathode electrode 143 can be formed in the open region, and the organic layer 142 has high linearity and is not well deposited on the side of the open region, and can be filled only in the open region. On the other hand, the cathode electrode 143 may be located on both the side and the bottom surface of the open region.

The reason why the open area is included in the organic film component is that the organic protective film 137 and the bank 141 are formed to have a thickness of 1000 Å to 4000 Å on the lower side of the inorganic protective film 136, When organic matter remains in the region irradiated with the laser repair, impurities are generated during the laser irradiation, and the organic luminescent layer of the adjacent sub-pixel directly affects the outgassing. As a result, the shrinkage of the sub- This is to avoid this because it causes it.

Here, since the organic layer 142 located in the open region is not formed on the side portion and is substantially separated from the organic layer 142 located in the opening portion, the organic layer 142 is less directly affected by the organic layer in the adjacent sub- The thickness thereof is thin as one tenth of the thickness of the organic protective film 137 and the bank 141, which is not a hindrance factor in laser irradiation. The organic passivation layer 137 and the bank 141 may be formed in the process of forming the opening portion (light emitting portion) of the bank 141. In this case, An opening region corresponding to a portion of the source connection electrode 133 of the sensing transistor SS-TR and the driving transistor D-TR corresponding to the first node A is provided.

In this case, the inorganic protective film 136 under the organic protective film 137 is held. The inorganic protective film 136 is transparent and has transparency upon laser irradiation. Thereafter, laser irradiation energy can be transmitted to the lower source connection electrode 133 and the first active layer 111 without distortion.

9B, the upper side of the substrate 100 is irradiated with laser light through the area where the organic protective film 137 and the bank 141 are opened, The source connecting electrode 133 and the first active layer 111 on the lower side of the node A are burnt and removed.

When the repair process is completed, the driving transistor and the source connection electrode 133 of the sensing transistor are electrically isolated from each other at the cutting portion where the repair is performed. In this repair process, the organic protective film 137 and the cathode electrode 143 located in the open region provided in the bank 141 may be removed. However, the cathode electrode 143 is integrally formed over the sub-pixels and is only partially removed as a hole only in the laser-irradiated region, so that the same voltage is applied to the cathode electrode 143 as a whole even after the repair.

In the case of the second embodiment, energy must be applied so that the metal-made source connection electrode 133 and the first active layer 111 are buried together, and the irradiation energy relative to the first embodiment may be relatively large. However, the repair method of the OLED display according to the second embodiment is easy to apply to the top emission type, and the irradiation area is defined in the bank forming process, so that there is little risk of outgas on the upper side, Method can also be repaired by one laser irradiation, which is a process advantage compared to the comparative example.

That is, the irradiation area of the repair transistor is adjusted so that the source connection electrode of the portion where the active layer and the sensing transistor SS-TR are connected to the driving transistor D-TR one time is eliminated, and the sensing transistor SS-TR and the driving transistor D-TR can be separated from the anode electrode of the organic light emitting diode, so that the process and time required for the repair process can be saved.

The features, structures, effects and the like described in the foregoing embodiments are included in at least one embodiment of the present invention and are not necessarily limited to one embodiment. Further, the features, structures, effects, and the like illustrated in the embodiments may be combined or modified in other embodiments by those skilled in the art to which the embodiments belong. Therefore, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to these combinations and modifications.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is clearly understood that the same is by way of illustration and example only and is not to be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention. It can be seen that various modifications and applications are possible. For example, each component specifically shown in the embodiments may be modified and implemented.

111: first active layer 112: second active layer
121: scan line 122: sensing line
123: first electrode 123a: driving gate electrode
124: Reference voltage line extension pattern 131: Power supply voltage line
132: Data line 133: Source connection electrode
134: sensing drain electrode 140: anode electrode
141: bank 142: organic layer
143: cathode electrodes 125a to 125f: contact holes

Claims (13)

A substrate having a plurality of sub-pixels;
A plurality of first lines and second lines arranged on the substrate in a direction intersecting each other around the respective sub-pixels;
An active layer adjacent to the second line in each of the sub-pixels, the active layer overlapping the first line with a certain width;
A driving transistor and a sensing transistor which are respectively disposed on the active layer, each of the sub pixels including a source connection electrode connected to the first node of the active layer; And
And a cutting portion provided at a first node of the active layer so as to electrically isolate the driving transistor from the sensing transistor in at least one sub-pixel. The method according to claim 1,
And the cutting unit removes the active layer from the first node. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the driving transistor and the source connection electrode of the sensing transistor are separated from each other in the cutting portion. The method according to claim 1 or 3,
And an inorganic protective film covering the driving transistor and the sensing transistor on the upper side of the cutting portion. 5. The method of claim 4,
And an organic insulating layer located above the inorganic protective layer and having an open region at a cutting portion. The method according to claim 1,
In the cutting portion, the source connection electrode is the metal closest to the substrate. 3. The method of claim 2,
And the source connection electrode is separated from the active layer in the cutting portion. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the driving transistor includes a driving drain electrode protruding from the second line and connected to the active layer and a driving gate electrode crossing the source connecting electrode and the active layer,
Wherein the sensing transistor includes a sensing drain electrode connected to the active layer via the first line, and the source connection electrode. 9. The method of claim 8,
And a storage capacitor including a first storage electrode extending from the driving gate electrode and filling a region of the sub pixel, and a second storage electrode overlapping the first storage electrode and extending from the source connection electrode. A plurality of first lines and a second line arranged on the substrate in a direction intersecting each other; an active layer adjacent to the second line, overlapping the first line with a certain width; A method of repairing an organic light emitting display device including a driving transistor and a sensing transistor divided on the active layer, each including a connected source connection electrode,
Wherein the first node of the active layer is irradiated with a laser to electrically disconnect the driving transistor and the sensing transistor to generate a cutting portion. A liquid crystal display device comprising: a substrate having a plurality of sub-pixels; a first line and a second line arranged in a direction intersecting each other on the sub-pixels; a second line adjacent to each second line, A repair method of an organic light emitting diode display device comprising a driving transistor and a sensing transistor which are divided on an active layer and each including a source connection electrode connected to an active layer and a first node of the active layer,
Detecting a luminescent spot of a plurality of sub-pixels on the substrate;
And irradiating the first node of the active layer with a laser so that the driving transistor and the sensing transistor are electrically separated from the sub-pixel in which the bright spot is detected, thereby cutting the organic light emitting display. 12. The method of claim 11,
And irradiating the laser from the lower side of the substrate to electrically isolate the active layer from the source connection electrode by burning the active layer. 12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein the irradiation of the laser is conducted from the upper side of the substrate to electrically disconnect the driving transistor and the sensing transistor at the first node by driving the source connection electrode and the active layer together.

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