TW202023089A - Flexible display - Google Patents

Abstract

A flexible display includes a first substrate and a pixel defining layer disposed on the first substrate. The pixel defining layer has a plurality of openings. Each of the openings corresponds to a pixel region. The pixel defining layer has a transmittance of 1% and a plurality of microstructures. Each of the microstructures protrudes away from the first substrate.

Description

Flexible display

The present invention relates to a flexible display, and particularly relates to a low-reflective flexible display.

Due to the advantages of flexible displays, small size, easy bending, and convenient carrying, the demand in the market is increasing. In a traditional flexible display, in order to reduce the thickness of the display and be easy to bend, the polarizing plate may be omitted. However, in a flexible display without a polarizing plate, there is a problem of metal reflection, which leads to poor display effect of the display and prevents the viewer from having high-quality visual enjoyment.

Therefore, there is still an urgent need to provide a flexible display capable of reducing light reflection.

The present invention relates to a flexible display, and particularly relates to a low-reflective flexible display. Since the pixel definition layer of the flexible display of the present invention uses a material with a transmittance of less than 1% and has a plurality of microstructures, it can reduce the reflection of metal and improve the display quality.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a flexible display is provided. The flexible display includes a first substrate and a pixel definition layer. The pixel definition layer is located on the first substrate and has a plurality of openings. Each opening corresponds to a pixel area. The penetration rate of the pixel definition layer is less than 1%, and it has multiple microstructures. Each microstructure protrudes away from the first substrate.

In order to have a better understanding of the above and other aspects of the present invention, the following specific examples and the accompanying drawings are described in detail as follows:

The specification of the present invention provides different examples to illustrate the technical features of different embodiments of the present invention. Among them, the configuration of each element in the embodiment is for illustrative purposes, and is not intended to limit the present invention. In addition, the repetition of the symbols of the drawings in the embodiments is to simplify the description, and does not mean the relevance between different embodiments.

The flexible display of the present invention has a pixel definition layer with a transmittance of less than 1%, and has a plurality of microstructures, which can have a lower reflectivity, so it can reduce the reflection of metal inside the display and improve the display quality.

FIG. 1A shows a cross-sectional view of a flexible display 2 according to an embodiment of the invention.

Referring to FIG. 1A, the flexible display 2 includes a base film 5, a laminated structure 10 and a cover plate 15. The laminated structure 10 is located on the base film 5 and the cover plate 15 is located on the laminated structure 10. That is, the laminated structure 10 is located between the base film 5 and the cover plate 15. The base film 5 may be formed of a polymer (such as: PET, PI polyimide... etc.). The laminated structure 10 may be a light-emitting element array substrate (described in detail later). The cover plate 15 can be a glass plate or a plastic cover (material: PC, PET, PI... etc.), and its top surface can be used as an observation surface. The flexible display 2 can be made of a bendable material, for example, it can be bent in the direction of arrows A and A', so that the user can carry it conveniently.

FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of the flexible display 2 of FIG. 1A after bending.

Please refer to Fig. 1B. After the flexible display 2 of Fig. 1A is bent in the directions of arrows A and A′, the bending radius of curvature R ₀ can be less than 4 mm, for example, 2 to 3 mm.

The flexible display 2 of the present invention does not additionally provide a polarizing plate between the base film 5 and the cover plate 15, but directly replaces the optical effect of the polarizing plate through the optical design in the laminated structure 10. Therefore, the flexible display 2 of the present invention has a smaller thickness than the comparative example (the bending radius of curvature is, for example, 4 mm) that has both a polarizing plate and a laminated structure between the base film and the cover plate. , It is easier to bend, more convenient to carry, and still has good display quality (for example, the problem of metal reflection is improved through the optical design in the laminated structure 10).

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of the laminated structure 100A of the flexible display 2 according to an embodiment of the invention.

Please refer to FIG. 2A, which shows a partial enlarged view of an embodiment of the laminated structure 10 corresponding to the flexible display 2 shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the laminated structure 100A of the flexible display 2 may include a first substrate 110, a flat layer 120, a second electrode 130, a pixel definition layer 140, and a plurality of light-emitting elements 150 (only shown in Figure 2A) One), a spacer 160, a first electrode 170, and a light shielding layer 180 are provided. The first substrate 110 has an upper surface 110a, in which a flat layer 120, a second electrode 130, a pixel definition layer 140, a light emitting element 150, a spacer 160, a first electrode 170, and a light shielding layer 180 can be sequentially stacked on the first substrate 110的上surface 110a.

In an embodiment, the first substrate 110 may be a multi-layer composite structure. For example, the first substrate 110 may include a flexible substrate 111, a buffer layer 112, a first insulating layer 1131, a second insulating layer 1132, an interlayer dielectric layer 114, and a switch unit 110s. The buffer layer 112, the first insulating layer 1131, the second insulating layer 1132, and the interlayer dielectric layer 114 may be stacked on the flexible substrate 111 in the normal direction (for example, the direction of the Z axis) along the upper surface 111a of the flexible substrate 111. On the upper surface 111a of the substrate 111. The switch unit 110s may include an active layer 115, a drain electrode 1161, a source electrode 1162, a gate electrode 117, a drain electrode 1181, a gate electrode 1182, and a source electrode 1183. In this embodiment, the active layer 115, the drain electrode 1161, and the source electrode 1162 can be formed on the same plane (for example, formed on the upper surface of the buffer layer 112) and covered by the first insulating layer 1131. The gate electrode 117 may be formed on the upper surface of the first insulating layer 1131 and covered by the second insulating layer 1132. The flexible substrate 111 may be made of polyimide. The buffer layer 112 and the interlayer dielectric layer 114 may be made of inorganic dielectric materials. The first insulating layer 1131 and the second insulating layer 1132 may be made of oxide, such as silicon oxide. The material of the active layer 115 may include oxide semiconductor or polysilicon. The oxide semiconductor may be a mixture of oxides of elements from groups 2 to 4 in the periodic table, such as indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO), indium zinc tin oxide (IZTO), indium gallium tin oxide (IGTO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), indium gallium oxide (IGO), zinc tin oxide (ZTO) and tin oxide (SnO). The drain electrode 1181, the gate electrode 1182, and the source electrode 1183 may be made of metal materials.

In this embodiment, the pixel definition layer 140 is located on the first substrate 110, for example, on the upper surface of the flat layer 120. The pixel definition layer 140 has low transmittance and reflectivity, and can be made of a black matrix resist (Black Matrix Resist) such as acrylic resin. In one embodiment, the penetration rate of the pixel definition layer 140 is less than 1%. That is, the material of the pixel definition layer 140 has a low light transmittance, and may be a dark color material. In addition, the pixel definition layer 140 has a plurality of microstructures 141, and each microstructure 141 protrudes away from the first substrate 110. In the normal direction of the upper surface 110a of the first substrate 110, the pixel defining layer 140 can overlap the drain electrode 1181, the gate electrode 1182 and the source electrode 1183 or the signal line electrically connected to the above-mentioned electrode. When ambient light irradiates the interior of the laminated structure 100A and encounters metal elements (such as the drain electrode 1181, the gate electrode 1182, the source electrode 1183 and the signal line) to generate reflected light, the transmittance is low and there are multiple The micro-structured pixel definition layer 140 can absorb reflected light from different angles, and can avoid excessive concentration of light, which can reduce the influence of ambient light on the display quality of the picture. The pixel definition layer 140 may form a plurality of openings 190 (shown in FIG. 3A), and each opening 190 may correspond to a pixel area 192 or a sub-pixel area. The plurality of light emitting elements 150 respectively correspond to the opening 190 formed by the pixel definition layer 140 and are electrically connected to the first electrode 170 and the second electrode 130. The first electrode 170 covers the surface of the pixel definition layer 140, the light emitting element 150 and the spacer 160, and conforms to the pixel definition layer 140, the light emitting element 150 and the spacer 160. That is, the first electrode 170 conforms to the undulations of the pixel definition layer 140, the light emitting element 150 and the spacer 160, and has a corresponding shape or appearance. The second electrode 130 may be formed on the upper surface of the flat layer 120 and pass through the flat layer 120 to be electrically connected to and contact the switch unit 110s (for example, contact with the drain electrode 1181). The light emitting element 150 is located between the first electrode 170 and the second electrode 130 and is electrically connected to the first electrode 170 and the second electrode 130. The light emitting element 150 is, for example, an organic light emitting diode. The first electrode 170 is, for example, a cathode, and the second electrode 130 is, for example, an anode.

In one embodiment, the number of spacers 160 is greater than one (Figure 2A only illustrates one spacer). The plurality of spacers 160 may be separated from each other. The spacer 160 is located on the pixel definition layer 140 and can be made of a black matrix resist (Black Matrix Resist) such as acrylic resin material, and has low transmittance and reflectivity. For example, the penetration rate of the spacer 160 is less than 1%. In addition, the spacer 160 includes a microstructure 161. Each microstructure 161 may protrude in a direction away from the first substrate 110. The number of microstructures 161 may be equal to one or greater than one. There is a first distance D ₁ between the top of the microstructure 161 of the spacer 160 and the upper surface 110a of the first substrate 110, and there is a second distance between the microstructure 141 of the pixel definition layer 140 and the upper surface 110a of the first substrate 110 The distance D ₂ , and the first distance D _{1 is} greater than the second distance D ₂ . Similar to the optical effect of the pixel definition layer 140, when ambient light irradiates the interior of the laminated structure 100A, it encounters metal elements (for example, the drain electrode 1181, the gate electrode 1182 and the source electrode 1183 and the signal line). When reflecting light, spacers with low transmittance and microstructures can absorb reflected light from different angles, and can avoid excessive light concentration. Compared with the optical design with only the pixel definition layer 140 (for example, using For the embodiment where the material with low transmittance and the microstructure 141) and the spacers do not have the above-mentioned optical design, the influence of the ambient light on the display quality of the picture can be further reduced.

In one embodiment, the first electrode 170 covers the spacer 160 and the pixel definition layer 140, and has a plurality of microstructures 171. The portion of the first electrode 170 covering the light-emitting element 150 does not have the microstructure 171. The microstructure 171 of a part of the first electrode 170 has an appearance corresponding to the microstructure 141 of the pixel definition layer 140, and the microstructure 171 of a part of the first electrode 170 has an appearance corresponding to the microstructure 161 of the spacer 160. There is a third distance D ₃ between the top portion of the microstructure 161 of the first electrode 170 corresponding to the spacer 160 and the upper surface 110a of the first substrate 110, and the first electrode 170 corresponds to the microstructure of the pixel definition layer 140 There is a fourth distance D ₄ between the top portion of 141 and the upper surface 110 a of the first substrate 110, and the third distance D _{3 is} greater than the fourth distance D ₄ .

In an embodiment, the light shielding layer 180 is located on the first electrode 170 and has a hole 184 corresponding to the light emitting element 150. The light-shielding layer 180 has low reflectivity and transmittance, and is made of a black matrix resist (Black Matrix Resist) such as acrylic resin material, for example, the transmittance is less than 1%. Compared to the optical design with only the above-mentioned pixel definition layer 140 (for example, the use of low-transmittance materials and the microstructure 141) and the optical design of the spacer 160 (for example, the use of low-transmittance materials and the microstructure 141) Structure 161) without the optical design of the light-shielding layer 180 (for example, using a material with low transmittance), the low light-transmitting material of the light-shielding layer 180 in this embodiment can further reduce the display quality of the image by the ambient light Impact. In other embodiments, the laminated structure 100A of the present invention may not have the light shielding layer 180, and the first electrode 170 may not be covered by the shielding layer 180. The multiple microstructures (for example, between the microstructures 141, between the microstructures 161, and between the microstructures 171) may have partially the same or partially different sizes, for example, the width and height may be the same or different from each other. FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of the laminated structure 100B of the flexible display 2 according to another embodiment of the present invention. The structure of the stacked structure 100B is similar to the stacked structure 100A, except that the light shielding layer 180 has a microstructure 181, the flat layer 220 has a microstructure 221, the second electrode 230 has a microstructure 231, and the light emitting element 250 has a microstructure 251. And the arrangement of the microstructure 241 of the pixel definition layer 240 and the microstructure 271 of the first electrode 270 is different from the microstructure 141 of the pixel definition layer 140 and the microstructure 171 of the first electrode 170, and the rest are repeated I will not go into details here.

Referring to FIG. 2B, the upper surface of the light shielding layer 180 has a plurality of microstructures 181, and the upper surface of the flat layer 220 has a plurality of microstructures 221. Each microstructure 181 of the light shielding layer 180 and each microstructure 221 of the flat layer 220 protrude in a direction away from the first substrate 110. The upper surface of the second electrode 230 also has a microstructure 231, that is, the microstructure 231 of the second electrode 230 directly contacts the light-emitting element 250. Compared with the pixel definition layer 140 in FIG. 2A, the pixel definition layer 240 has a smaller area on the flat layer 220, and a part of the flat layer 220 can directly contact the first electrode 270. In the area where the first electrode 270 directly covers the flat layer 220, the first electrode 270 can conform to the topography of the flat layer 220, so that the microstructure 271 of the first electrode 270 and the microstructure 221 of the flat layer 220 can have corresponding Appearance. In addition, part of the microstructure 271 of the first electrode 270 is located on the upper surface of the light-emitting unit 150. Compared with the laminated structure 100A in FIG. 2A, the laminated structure 100B has more microstructure designs, for example, the number of microstructures 271 of the first electrode 270 is larger, and the light shielding layer 180 has a microstructure 181 and is flat. The layer 220 has a micro-structure 221, and the second electrode 230 also has a micro-structure 231, which can better disperse the reflected light caused by the ambient light encountering metal elements, which can prevent the observer from feeling the more concentrated light, which is more beneficial to the picture. Display quality.

In FIGS. 2A and 2B, the microstructures 141, 161, 171, 181, 221, 231, and 271 are all exemplarily drawn as semi-spherical. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The microstructure can be any geometric shape (for example, a sphere, cone, cylinder, triangular pyramid, triangular column, cuboid, cube, trapezoidal column), which will be described later, as long as it can Just achieve the purpose of dispersing light.

FIG. 3A shows a top view of the laminated structure 100A of the flexible display 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of the relative positions of the microstructures in FIG. 2A (the light shielding layer 180 and the second layer are omitted) One electrode 170).

Referring to FIG. 3A, the pixel definition layer 140 has a microstructure 141, and the spacer 160 has a microstructure 161. The pixel definition layer 140 forms a plurality of openings 190, and each opening 190 corresponds to a pixel area 192 (for example, red pixel R, green pixel G, and blue pixel B). The spacer 160 is disposed on the pixel definition layer 140. The microstructures 141 and 161 can be spherical, cylindrical or conical, respectively.

FIG. 3B shows a top view of the laminated structure 100B of the flexible display 2 according to another embodiment of the present invention, and exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of the relative positions of the microstructures in FIG. 2B (omit the light shielding layer 180 and The first electrode 170).

Referring to FIG. 3B, the pixel definition layer 240 has a microstructure 241, the spacer 160 has a microstructure 161, and the first electrode 270 has a microstructure 271. The pixel definition layer 240 forms a plurality of openings 290, and each opening 290 corresponds to a pixel area (for example, red pixel R, green pixel G, and blue pixel B). The spacer 160 is disposed on the pixel definition layer 240. The microstructure 271 of the first electrode 270 may correspond to the opening 290, for example, cover the light emitting element 150 (shown in FIG. 2B). The microstructures 241, 161, and 271 may be spherical, cylindrical, or conical, respectively.

FIG. 4A is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the microstructure 101 of the flexible display according to an embodiment of the invention. The appearance of any of the aforementioned microstructures (for example, the microstructures 141, 161, 181, 221, 231, 241, and 271) can be applied to the microstructure 101, and can be spherical or semi-spherical. The radius R _{1 of the} microstructure 101 may be between 0.1 μm and 10 μm.

FIG. 4B is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a microstructure 102 of a flexible display according to another embodiment of the present invention. The appearance of any of the aforementioned microstructures (for example, the microstructures 141, 161, 181, 221, 231, 241, 271) can be applied to the microstructure 102, and can be cylindrical. The radius R _{2 of the} microstructure 102 may be between 0.1 μm and 10 μm, and the height L ₁ may be between 0.1 μm and 5 μm.

FIG. 4C is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the microstructure 103 of the flexible display according to another embodiment of the present invention. The appearance of any of the aforementioned microstructures (for example, the microstructures 141, 161, 181, 221, 231, 241, and 271) can be applied to the microstructure 103, and can be a conical shape. The radius R _{3 of the} microstructure 103 may be between 0.1 μm and 10 μm, and the height L ₂ may be between 0.1 μm and 5 μm.

FIG. 4D is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the micro structure 104 of the flexible display according to another embodiment of the present invention. The appearance of any of the aforementioned microstructures (for example, the microstructures 141, 161, 181, 221, 231, 241, 271) can be applied to the microstructure 104, and can be a triangular pyramid type. The width W _{1 of the} micro structure 104 may be between 0.1 μm and 10 μm, and the height L ₃ may be between 0.1 μm and 5 μm.

FIG. 4E is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the microstructure 105 of the flexible display according to another embodiment of the present invention. The appearance of any of the aforementioned microstructures (for example, microstructures 141, 161, 181, 221, 231, 241, 271) can be applied to the microstructure 105, and can be a trapezoidal column (formed on the X axis and the Z axis) The sectional view is a trapezoid). The microstructure 105 has a top width W ₃ on the top surface away from the first substrate 110 and a bottom width W ₄ on the bottom surface close to the first substrate 110. The bottom width W _{4 is} greater than the top width W ₃ . The top width W ₃ may be between 0.1 μm and 10 μm, and the bottom width W ₄ may be between 0.1 μm and 20 μm. The vertical height L ₄ between the top surface and the bottom surface of the microstructure 105 may be 0.1 μm to 5 μm.

FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view of a laminated structure 200A of a flexible display 2 according to another embodiment of the present invention. The structure of the laminated structure 200A is similar to the laminated structure 100A, except that there is no light shielding layer, and the microstructure 341 of the pixel definition layer 340, the microstructure 361 of the spacer 360, and the microstructure 371 of the first electrode 370 The appearance is different from the appearance of the microstructure 141 of the pixel definition layer 140, the microstructure 161 of the spacer 160, and the appearance of the first electrode 170 having the microstructure 171, and the other repetitions will not be described in detail here.

Please refer to FIG. 5A, the microstructures 341 of the pixel definition layer 340 and the microstructures 361 of the spacer 360 can have a conical shape (as in the embodiment in Fig. 4C) or a triangular pyramid (as in the embodiment in Fig. 4D) The appearance. The microstructure 371 of the first electrode 370 is conformal to the microstructure 341 or 361. When the microstructures 341 and 361 are conical, the size range may be the same as that of the microstructure 103 in FIG. 4C. When the microstructures 341 and 361 have a triangular pyramid shape, the size range may be the same as that of the microstructure 104 in FIG. 4D.

FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of the laminated structure 200B of the flexible display 2 according to another embodiment of the present invention. The structure of the laminated structure 200B is similar to the laminated structure 100B. The difference is that there is no light shielding layer, and the microstructure 421 of the flat layer 420, the microstructure 351 of the light emitting element 350, the microstructure 431 of the second electrode 430, and the pixel The appearance of the microstructure 441 of the definition layer 440, the microstructure 461 of the spacer 460, and the microstructure 471 of the first electrode 470 are respectively the same as the microstructure 221 of the flat layer 220, the microstructure 251 of the light-emitting element 250, and the second electrode 230. The appearance of the microstructure 231, the microstructure 241 of the pixel definition layer 240, the microstructure 161 of the spacer 160, and the first electrode 270 with the microstructure 271 are different, and the other repetitions will not be described in detail here.

Referring to FIG. 5B, the microstructure 421 of the flat layer 420, the microstructure 351 of the light-emitting element 350, the microstructure 431 of the second electrode 430, the microstructure 441 of the pixel definition layer 440, and the microstructure 461 of the spacer 460 may have Cone shape (as shown in Figure 4C) or triangular pyramid (as shown in Figure 4D). The microstructure 471 of the first electrode 470 is conformal to the microstructure 351, 441, or 461. When the microstructure 421 of the flat layer 420, the microstructure 431 of the second electrode 430, the microstructure 441 of the pixel definition layer 440, and the microstructure 461 of the spacer 460 are conical, the size range can be the same as that of the microstructure in Figure 4C. Structure 103. When the microstructure 421 of the flat layer 420, the microstructure 431 of the second electrode 430, the microstructure 441 of the pixel definition layer 440, and the microstructure 461 of the spacer 460 are triangular cones, the size range can be the same as that of the 4D Microstructure 104.

FIG. 6A shows an oblique view of the laminated structure 200A of the flexible display 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of the relative positions of the microstructures in FIG. 5A (the first electrode 370 is omitted) .

Referring to FIG. 6A, the pixel definition layer 340 has a microstructure 341, and the spacer 360 has a microstructure 361. The pixel definition layer 340 forms a plurality of openings 390, and each opening 390 corresponds to a pixel area (for example, red pixel R, green pixel G, and blue pixel B). The spacer 360 is disposed on the pixel definition layer 340. The microstructures 341 and 361 can be triangular pyramids or triangular pillars, respectively.

FIG. 6B shows an oblique view of the laminated structure 200B of the flexible display 2 according to another embodiment of the present invention, and exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of the relative positions of the microstructures in FIG. 5B.

Referring to FIG. 6B, the pixel definition layer 440 has a microstructure 441, the spacer 460 has a microstructure 461, and the first electrode 470 has a microstructure 471. The pixel definition layer 440 forms a plurality of openings 490, and each opening 490 corresponds to a pixel area (for example, red pixel R, green pixel G, and blue pixel B). The spacer 460 is disposed on the pixel definition layer 440. The microstructure 471 of the first electrode 470 may correspond to the opening 490, for example, cover the light-emitting element 150 (shown in FIG. 5B). The microstructures 441, 461, and 471 may be triangular pyramids or triangular pillars, respectively.

FIG. 7A shows a cross-sectional view of a laminated structure 300A of the flexible display 2 according to another embodiment of the present invention. The structure of the laminated structure 300A is similar to the laminated structure 100A, except that there is no light shielding layer, and the microstructure 541 of the pixel definition layer 540, the microstructure 561 of the spacer 560, and the microstructure 571 of the first electrode 570 The appearance is different from the appearance of the microstructure 141 of the pixel defining layer 140, the microstructure 161 of the spacer 160, and the microstructure 171 of the first electrode 170, and the other repetitions are not described here.

Referring to FIG. 7A, the microstructure 541 of the pixel definition layer 540 and the microstructure 561 of the spacer 560 can have a trapezoidal shape. The microstructure 571 of the first electrode 570 is conformal to the microstructure 541 or 561.

FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view of the laminated structure 300B of the flexible display 2 according to another embodiment of the present invention. The structure of the laminated structure 300B is similar to the laminated structure 100B. The difference is that there is no light shielding layer, and the microstructure 621 of the flat layer 620, the microstructure 451 of the light emitting element 450, the microstructure 631 of the second electrode 630, and the pixel The appearance of the microstructure 641 of the definition layer 640, the microstructure 661 of the spacer 660, and the microstructure 671 of the first electrode 670 are respectively the same as the microstructure 221 of the flat layer 220, the microstructure 251 of the light emitting element 250, and the second electrode 230. The appearances of the microstructure 231, the microstructure 241 of the pixel definition layer 240, the microstructure 261 of the spacer 260, and the microstructure 271 of the first electrode 270 are different, and the other repetitions are omitted here.

Referring to FIG. 7B, the microstructure 621 of the flat layer 620, the microstructure 451 of the light-emitting element 450, the microstructure 631 of the second electrode 630, the microstructure 661 of the spacer 660, and the microstructure 671 of the first electrode 670 can be trapezoidal. The cylinder may have a trapezoidal shape in the cross-sectional view formed by the X axis and the Z axis. The microstructure 671 of the first electrode 670 is conformal to a part of the microstructure 621 and a part of the microstructure 661.

FIG. 8A shows a top view of the laminated structure 300A of the flexible display 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of the relative positions of the microstructures in FIG. 7A (the first electrode 570 is omitted) .

Referring to FIG. 8A, the pixel definition layer 540 has a microstructure 541, and the spacer 560 has a microstructure 561. The pixel definition layer 540 forms a plurality of openings 590, and each opening 590 corresponds to a pixel area or sub-pixel area (for example, red pixel R, green pixel G, and blue pixel B). The spacer 560 is disposed on the pixel definition layer 540. The microstructures 541 and 561 can be respectively a trapezoidal column, a rectangular parallelepiped, or a geometric column with a rectangular bottom surface.

FIG. 8B is a top view of the laminated structure 300B of the flexible display 2 according to another embodiment of the present invention, and exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of the relative positions of the microstructures in FIG. 7B.

Referring to FIG. 8B, the pixel definition layer 640 has a microstructure 641, the spacer 660 has a microstructure 661, and the first electrode 670 has a microstructure 671. The pixel definition layer 640 forms a plurality of openings 690, and each opening 690 corresponds to a pixel area (for example, red pixel R, green pixel G, and blue pixel B). The spacer 660 is disposed on the pixel definition layer 640. The microstructure 671 of the first electrode 670 may correspond to the opening 690, for example, cover the light emitting element 150 (shown in FIG. 7B). The microstructures 641, 661, and 671 can be respectively trapezoidal cylinders, cuboids, or geometric cones or geometric cylinders with a rectangular bottom surface.

In the above embodiments, the appearance of each microstructure of the pixel definition layer can be spherical, cylindrical, conical, triangular cone, and trapezoid. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In other embodiments , The appearance of the microstructure of the pixel definition layer can be any combination of spherical, cylindrical, conical, triangular pyramid and trapezoid.

Please refer to Table 1 below, which shows the bending results and optical characteristics of Experimental Example 1 and Comparative Example 1. Experimental example 1 is a flexible display 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention (as shown in FIG. 1A, there is no polarizing plate between the cover plate 15 and the base film 5). Comparative Example 1 is a flexible display with a polarizing plate between the cover plate 15 and the base film 5. Compared with Experimental Example 1, Comparative Example 1 has at least one more polarizing plate, so it has a larger thickness.

Table I

In Table 1, the flexible display of Comparative Example 1 and the flexible display of Experimental Example 1 were subjected to bending tests under different radii of curvature (2 mm, 3 mm and 4 mm), and the strain was simulated and calculated. ). As the radius of curvature becomes smaller, the strain on the flexible display under test becomes greater. In Comparative Example 1, under bending with different radii of curvature, the strains are all greater than 1%. In contrast, the strains of Experimental Example 1 are all less than 1%. It can be seen that the experimental example 1 is easier to bend than the comparative example, will not bear too much strain, and the possibility of cracking and damage is lower. Moreover, the reflectance of Experimental Example 1 is only slightly higher than that of Comparative Example 1, and still possesses quite good anti-reflective optical properties.

The present invention provides a flexible display whose pixel definition layer has a penetration rate of less than 1% and has multiple microstructures. Therefore, when ambient light irradiates the inside of the flexible display and encounters metal elements and generates reflected light, the pixel definition layer with low transmittance and multiple microstructures can absorb the reflected light at different angles and can The design of the micro structure avoids excessive concentration of light, which can reduce the influence of ambient light on the display quality of the picture. Moreover, because the pixel definition layer has the above-mentioned optical characteristics, it can replace the use of the polarizer, so that the flexible display of the present invention can have good optical characteristics (for example, low reflectivity) without the need for a polarizer, and can reduce The thickness of the flexible display makes it easier to bend without being damaged.

In summary, although the present invention has been disclosed as above with examples, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Those with ordinary knowledge in the technical field of the present invention can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention shall be subject to the scope defined in the appended patent application.

2: Flexible display 5: Base film 10: Laminated structure 15: Cover plate 100A, 100B, 200A, 200B, 300A, 300B: Laminated structure 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 141, 161, 171, 181, 221, 231, 241, 251, 271, 341, 351, 361, 371, 421, 431, 441, 451, 461, 471, 541, 561, 571, 621, 631, 641, 661, 671: Microstructure 110: First substrate 110a, 111a: upper surface 111: flexible base material 112: buffer layer 114: interlayer dielectric layer 110s: switch unit 115: active layer 117: gate 120, 220, 420, 620: flat layer 130, 230, 430, 630: second electrode 140, 240, 340, 440, 540, 640: pixel definition layer 150, 250, 350, 450: light-emitting element 160, 360, 460, 560, 660: spacer 170, 270, 370 , 470, 570, 670: first electrode 180: light shielding layer 184: holes 190, 290, 390, 490, 590, 690: opening 192: pixel area 1131: first insulating layer 1132: second insulating layer 1161: drain Pole 1162: source 1181: drain electrode 1182: gate electrode 1183: source electrode A, A': arrow D ₁ , D ₂ , D ₃ , D ₄ : distance L ₁ , L ₂ , L ₃ , L ₄ : Height R, G, B: Pixel R ₀ , R ₁ , R ₂ , R ₃ : Radius W ₁ , W ₃ , W ₄ : Width

FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view of a flexible display according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of the flexible display shown in FIG. 1A after being bent. FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of a laminated structure of a flexible display according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of a laminated structure of a flexible display according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3A is a top view of a laminated structure of a flexible display according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 3B is a top view of a laminated structure of a flexible display according to another embodiment of the invention. FIG. 4A is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the microstructure of a flexible display according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 4B is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a microstructure of a flexible display according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4C is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the microstructure of a flexible display according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4D is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the microstructure of a flexible display according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4E is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the microstructure of a flexible display according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view of a laminated structure of a flexible display according to another embodiment of the invention. FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of a laminated structure of a flexible display according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6A is an oblique view of a laminated structure of a flexible display according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 6B is an oblique view of a laminated structure of a flexible display according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7A is a cross-sectional view of a laminated structure of a flexible display according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view of a laminated structure of a flexible display according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8A is a top view of a laminated structure of a flexible display according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8B is a top view of a laminated structure of a flexible display according to another embodiment of the present invention.

100A: stacked structure

110: first substrate

110a, 111a: upper surface

111: Flexible substrate

112: buffer layer

114: Interlayer dielectric layer

110s: switch unit

115: active layer

117: Gate

120: flat layer

130: second electrode

140: Pixel definition layer

141, 161, 171: microstructure

150: light-emitting element

160: Spacer

170: first electrode

180: shading layer

184: Hole

1131: first insulating layer

1132: second insulating layer

1161: Drain

1162: Source

1181: Drain electrode

1182: gate electrode

1183: source electrode

D ₁ , D ₂ , D ₃ , D ₄ : distance

Claims (11)

A flexible display, comprising: a first substrate; and a pixel definition layer located on the first substrate, having a plurality of openings, each of the openings corresponds to a pixel area, wherein the pixel definition layer penetrates The transmittance is less than 1% and has a plurality of microstructures, and each microstructure protrudes away from the first substrate. The flexible display described in item 1 of the scope of the patent application further includes a first electrode, the first electrode is located on the pixel defining layer, and the first electrode has a plurality of microstructures, part of the first electrode The microstructures of an electrode have an appearance corresponding to the microstructures of the pixel definition layer. The flexible display described in item 2 of the scope of patent application further includes a plurality of light-emitting elements, the light-emitting elements are respectively arranged corresponding to the openings, and each of the light-emitting elements is electrically connected to the first electrode. In the flexible display described in item 3 of the scope of patent application, the microstructures of the first electrode are located on the light-emitting elements. The flexible display described in item 3 of the scope of patent application further includes a second electrode on the first substrate, each of the light emitting elements is located between the first electrode and the second electrode, and each of the The light-emitting element is electrically connected to the second electrode. As for the flexible display described in claim 5, the second electrode has a plurality of microstructures, the microstructures of the second electrode protrude in a direction away from the first substrate, and the second electrode The microstructures of the part of the two electrodes are located under the light-emitting elements. The flexible display described in item 3 of the scope of the patent application further includes a light-shielding layer, the light-shielding layer is located on the first electrode, has holes corresponding to each of the light-emitting elements, and the transmittance of the light-shielding layer is less than 1%, and the light shielding layer has a plurality of microstructures, and each of the microstructures of the light shielding layer protrudes away from the first substrate. The flexible display described in item 1 of the scope of patent application further includes a spacer, the spacer is located on the pixel definition layer, the spacer has a penetration rate of less than 1%, and the spacer has at least one The micro structure, the at least one micro structure of the spacer protrudes away from the first substrate. The flexible display described in item 1 of the scope of patent application further includes a flat layer located between the first substrate and the pixel definition layer, and the transmittance of the flat layer is less than 1%. The flexible display according to claim 9, wherein the flat layer has a plurality of microstructures, and each microstructure of the flat layer protrudes away from the first substrate. According to the flexible display described in item 1 of the scope of patent application, the appearance of each microstructure of the pixel definition layer is spherical, cylindrical, conical, triangular pyramid, trapezoidal, and any combination thereof.

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