TWI533274B - Display panel - Google Patents

Description

Display panel

The present invention relates to a display panel, and more particularly to a display panel that utilizes a thermoelectric module as a secondary power supply system to convert heat generated by a display panel into electrical energy and reduce energy consumption.

In recent years, with the advancement of technology, the use of electronic products such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile phones, smart phones, and notebooks (NB) has become more and more The more common it is. As users' demand for electronic products is increasing, display screens/panels, which play an important role in electronic products, have also become the focus of designers.

Since the electronic components in the display panel generate heat during operation, once the temperature in the display panel is too high, the electrical performance of each electronic component in the display panel may be degraded. In addition, the power consumption of the display panel is also a major consideration in design. Therefore, providing an effective heat dissipation effect of the display panel and low power consumption is a major issue in the development of the display panel.

One of the objectives of the present invention is to provide a display panel in which a thermoelectric module is disposed in a display area of the display panel to increase the overall heat dissipation effect and reduce overall power consumption.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a display panel including a substrate, a pixel array, and a thermoelectric module. The substrate includes a plurality of pixel regions. The pixel array is disposed on the substrate, wherein the pixel array includes a plurality of driving elements and a plurality of light emitting elements. Drive component is set in the pixel area Inside. The illuminating elements are disposed in the pixel area and are electrically connected to the driving elements respectively. The thermoelectric module is disposed in the pixel array, wherein the thermoelectric module comprises a hot end insulating substrate, a cold end insulating substrate and a plurality of thermoelectric units, and the thermoelectric unit is disposed on the hot end insulating substrate and the cold end insulating base The materials are electrically connected to each other.

The thermoelectric module is disposed in the pixel array of the display panel, wherein the thermoelectric module can provide the heat dissipation effect of the light-emitting component, and can also be used as a secondary power supply system to convert the heat generated by the display panel into electrical energy for reuse. Therefore, the load of the main power of the display panel can be reduced.

Display panel

12‧‧‧Substrate

12P‧‧‧ surrounding area

12D‧‧‧ display area

14‧‧‧Photo area

16‧‧‧ pixel array

18‧‧‧Drive components

19‧‧‧Semiconductor layer

20‧‧‧ Polysilicon channel layer

22‧‧‧ heavily doped semiconductor layer

23‧‧‧Lightly doped semiconductor layer

24‧‧‧汲electrode

26‧‧‧Source electrode

28‧‧‧gate electrode

30‧‧‧ gate insulation

32‧‧‧Dielectric layer

33‧‧‧Protective layer

34‧‧‧buffer layer

38‧‧‧Transfer electrode

40‧‧‧ Cold end insulating substrate

42‧‧‧Second connection electrode

44‧‧‧Thermal unit

46‧‧‧first channel layer

48‧‧‧second channel layer

50‧‧‧Insulation

52‧‧‧First connecting electrode

54‧‧‧hot end insulating substrate

56‧‧‧Contact hole

58‧‧‧Thermal module

60‧‧‧ lower electrode

62‧‧‧ patterned dam layer

62A‧‧‧ openings

66‧‧‧reflective layer

68‧‧‧ side wall

72‧‧‧ Conductive adhesive layer

74‧‧‧Lighting elements

78‧‧‧First electrode

80‧‧‧second electrode

82‧‧‧P-N diode layer

84‧‧‧Filling layer

86‧‧‧Upper electrode

88‧‧‧Power Module

90‧‧‧Main power supply

92‧‧‧Auxiliary power supply

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a display panel of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a pixel area of the display panel of the present invention.

3 to 13 are schematic views showing a method of fabricating a display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 14 is a cross-sectional view showing a pixel region of a display panel in accordance with a variant embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention will be further understood by the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, .

Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a display panel of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a pixel area of the display panel of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1 , the display panel 1 of the present embodiment includes a substrate 12 , a pixel array 16 , a thermoelectric module 58 , and a power module 88 . The substrate 12 includes a peripheral region 12P and a display region 12D. The pixel array 16 and the thermoelectric module 58 are disposed on the display area 12D of the substrate 12, and the power module 88 is disposed on the substrate 12. Peripheral area 12P. The thermoelectric module 58 is electrically connected to the power module 88, and the electrical energy generated by the thermoelectric module 58 can be supplied to the power module 88. The power module 88 can include, for example, at least one main power source 90 and an auxiliary power source 92. The main power source 90 can include at least one voltage converter (such as a DC-DC voltage converter) and at least one integrated circuit chip (IC chip), etc., and can transmit power or signals to each of the electronic components in the display panel 1 that require power or signals. element. The auxiliary power source 92 can include at least one voltage converter (such as a DC-DC voltage converter) and at least one integrated circuit chip (IC chip), etc., the auxiliary power source 92 is electrically connected to the thermoelectric module 58, and the auxiliary power source 92 is also It is electrically connected to the main power source 90. Thereby, when the display panel 1 is in operation, the heat in the display panel 1 can be converted into electric energy through the thermoelectric module 58 and then transmitted to the auxiliary power source 92 in the power module 88. Through the voltage converter and the integrated circuit chip in the auxiliary power source 92, the current generated by the thermoelectric module 58 can be subjected to, for example, step-up, step-down, negative voltage or voltage regulation to further transfer power or signals to the main. The power source 90, or the auxiliary power source 92, together with the main power source 90, can transfer power or signals to various electronic components within the display panel 1. In other words, a portion of the electrical energy required by the various electronic components in the display panel 1 can be provided by the thermoelectric module 58 via the auxiliary power source 92, whereby the main power source 90 only needs to supply the remaining portion of the electrical energy, thereby reducing the load on the main power source 90. The energy consumption of the display panel 1 is reduced.

As shown in FIG. 2, the display panel 1 of the present embodiment has a substrate 12, a pixel array 16 and a thermoelectric module 58, wherein the pixel array 16 is disposed on the substrate 12, and the thermoelectric module 58 is disposed on the pixel array 16. Inside. The display area 12D of the substrate 12 may have a plurality of pixel areas 14. The pixel array 16 has a plurality of driving elements 18 and a plurality of light emitting elements 74. The driving elements 18 are disposed in the pixel area 14, and the light emitting elements 74 are disposed in the pixel area 14 and electrically connected to the driving elements 18, respectively. In detail, the thermoelectric module 58 of the present embodiment is disposed between the light emitting element 74 and the driving element 18. The thermoelectric module 58 has a hot end insulating substrate 54, a cold end insulating substrate 40, and a plurality of thermoelectric units 44. The hot-end insulating base material 54 is disposed between the light-emitting element 74 and the thermoelectric unit 44, and the cold-end insulating base material 40 is disposed between the drive element 18 and the thermoelectric unit 44. The thermoelectric unit 44 is disposed between the hot end insulating substrate 54 and the cold end insulating substrate 40 and electrically connected to each other. Each thermoelectric unit 44 has a first channel layer 46 and a second channel layer 48, wherein the first channel layer 46 and the second channel layer 48 have different Seebeck coefficients. In this embodiment, the thermoelectric units 44 are electrically connected in series. For example, the thermoelectric module 58 may further include a plurality of first connection electrodes 52 and a plurality of second connection electrodes 42 , wherein the first channels of each thermoelectric unit 44 The layer 46 and the second channel layer 48 can be electrically connected to the corresponding first connection electrode 52, and the second channel layer 48 of each thermoelectric unit 44 and the first channel layer 46 of the adjacent thermoelectric unit 44 can be correspondingly The second connection electrode 42 is electrically connected, wherein the first connection electrode 52 can be disposed between the thermoelectric unit 44 and the hot end insulating substrate 54 , and the second connection electrode 42 can be disposed on the thermoelectric unit 44 and the cold end insulating substrate 40 . Between, but not limited to. Thereby, the thermoelectric unit 44 can form a loop, that is, a current can be formed in the thermoelectric module 58, and if the thermoelectric module 58 is further electrically connected to a load outside the pixel array 16, a corresponding voltage can be output. That is to say, as long as the display panel 1 is in operation, the thermoelectric module 58 can convert the heat generated by the light-emitting element 74 into an electrical energy output, thereby achieving the effect of simultaneously dissipating heat and generating additional electrical energy. In other variant embodiments, the thermoelectric units 44 may also be electrically connected to each other in other ways, by electrically connecting in parallel, or a part of the thermoelectric units 44 may be electrically connected in series and another part of the thermoelectric units 44 may be connected in parallel. The method is electrically connected or electrically connected by other means. Alternatively, the thermoelectric unit 44 can be divided into multiple arrays in which the thermoelectric units 44 in each group are electrically connected to each other, and the thermoelectric units 44 in the different groups are not electrically connected to each other.

Please refer to FIG. 3 to FIG. 13 . FIG. 3 to FIG. 13 are schematic diagrams showing a method of manufacturing a display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, a substrate 12 is first provided, and the substrate 12 includes a plurality of pixel regions 14. The substrate 12 of the embodiment may include a rigid substrate or a flexible substrate, such as a glass substrate or a plastic substrate, but is not limited thereto. The pixel area 14 may include pixel regions for providing different colors, such as a red pixel region, a green pixel region, and a blue pixel region, but not limited thereto, wherein a different color light pixel region 14 may be provided. Arranged in an array manner, the light of different colors provided by the pixel area 14 can be mixed to achieve the effect of full color display. Next, a plurality of driving elements 18 are formed on the substrate 12, respectively, in the pixel area 14. Each of the driving elements 18 can include at least one thin film The crystal is, for example, a bismuth-based thin film transistor or an oxide semiconductor thin film transistor, and the thin film transistor may be a top gate type thin film transistor, a bottom gate type thin film transistor or other type of thin film transistor. In this embodiment, a top gate type polysilicon thin film transistor is used as the driving element 18, which includes a semiconductor layer 19 gate insulating layer 30, a gate electrode 28, a dielectric layer 32, a drain electrode 24, and a source electrode 26. The semiconductor layer 19 may include, for example, a polysilicon channel layer 20, and two heavily doped semiconductor layers 22 on both sides of the polysilicon channel layer 20 and respectively located as a gate doped region and a source doped region, and two lightly doped semiconductor layers 23, respectively. The polysilicon channel layer 20 is between the heavily doped semiconductor layer 22. The material of the semiconductor layer 19 is not limited to polysilicon, but may be other suitable semiconductors, such as other germanium-based semiconductor layers (eg, amorphous germanium, microcrystalline germanium), oxide semiconductor layers such as indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) or others. Suitable semiconductor materials. The gate insulating layer 30 covers the semiconductor layer 19. The gate electrode 28 is located on the gate insulating layer 30 and substantially corresponds to the polysilicon channel layer 20. Dielectric layer 32 is on gate electrode 28 and gate insulating layer 30. The drain electrode 24 and the source electrode 26 are located on the dielectric layer 32 and are electrically connected to the heavily doped semiconductor layer 22, respectively. In addition, the method of the present embodiment can selectively form at least one buffer layer 34 on the substrate 12 before forming the polysilicon channel layer 20, wherein the buffer layer 34 can be a single layer structure, and the material of the buffer layer 34 can be an insulating layer, for example. The cerium oxide buffer layer, the cerium nitride buffer layer, the cerium oxynitride buffer layer or the aluminum oxide buffer layer is not limited thereto. The buffer layer 34 may also be a multi-layer structure, which may be a stack of insulating layers of different materials, such as a stack of a ruthenium oxide buffer layer and a tantalum nitride buffer layer, but is not limited thereto. In addition, the method of the embodiment may further form a protective layer 33 on the dielectric layer 32, wherein the protective layer 33 may be a single layer structure or a multilayer structure, and the protective layer 33 may expose a portion of the drain electrode 24 and the source. Electrode 26. Then, a plurality of transfer electrodes 38 are selectively formed on the protective layer 33, wherein the transfer electrodes 38 are electrically connected to the drain electrodes 24 exposed by the protective layer 33, respectively, and the transfer electrodes 38 are preferably electrically conductive. Sexual materials such as metals or alloys, but not limited to them.

As shown in FIG. 4, a cold-ended insulating substrate 40 is then formed on the driving member 18. For example, the cold-end insulating substrate 40 may be formed on the via electrode 38 and the protective layer 33, but not Limited. The material of the cold-end insulating substrate 40 may be an insulating material having good thermal conductivity, and preferably includes a ceramic material having good insulating properties and thermal conductivity, but is not limited thereto. The cold-end insulating substrate 40 may be a semiconductor substrate (for example, a tantalum substrate) having a surface coated with ruthenium dioxide or an aluminum composite substrate having an anodized surface. As shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of second connection electrodes 42 are formed on the cold-end insulating substrate 40, wherein any two adjacent second connection electrodes 42 have a gap therebetween, that is, each second connection electrode 42 may be separate patterns that are not in contact with each other. The material of the second connection electrode 42 may include a material having good electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity, and may preferably include a non-transparent conductive material such as silver, aluminum, copper, magnesium or molybdenum, a transparent conductive material such as indium tin oxide, indium zinc oxide or Alumina zinc, a composite layer of the above materials or an alloy of the above materials, but is not limited thereto.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of thermoelectric units 44 are formed on the second connection electrode 42, wherein each of the thermoelectric units 44 includes a first channel layer 46 and a second channel layer 48. In detail, as shown in FIG. 4, the first channel layer 46 and the second channel layer 48 in this embodiment may be a first semiconductor layer and a second semiconductor layer, respectively. For example, the first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer can be formed on the second connecting electrode 42 and the cold-end insulating substrate 40 to form a semiconductor layer, and then doped by a doping process (for example, a diffusion process or an ion implantation process). A region having a first doping pattern and a second doping pattern is formed in the semiconductor layer, and the first doping pattern is different from the second doping pattern, but is not limited thereto. A first semiconductor layer having a first doping pattern and a second semiconductor layer having a second doping pattern are then formed in a patterning process (eg, a photolithography process). The first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer may be a P-type semiconductor and an N-type semiconductor, respectively, or the first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer may be an N-type semiconductor and a P-type semiconductor, respectively, but not limited thereto. The substrate of the P-type semiconductor and the N-type semiconductor may be various semiconductor materials such as Group IV A elements (e.g., germanium, antimony) and have P-type doping such as phosphorus, arsenic, and N-type doping such as boron, respectively. Alternatively, the substrate of the P-type semiconductor and the N-type semiconductor may be a III-V compound semiconductor such as gallium nitride (GaN) or a II-VI compound semiconductor such as zinc sulfide (ZnS), and may selectively have a P-type doping. Doped with N-type. In this embodiment, the first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer are respectively P-type doped germanium and N-type doped germanium, but are not limited thereto. worth it It is noted that since the thermoelectric conversion efficiency of the semiconductor material is substantially higher than that of the metal and the insulator material, and the P-type semiconductor is combined with the N-type semiconductor to further improve the efficiency of the thermoelectric conversion, the thermoelectric unit of the embodiment The first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer of 44 are paired with a P-type doped germanium and an N-type doped germanium, which can improve the thermoelectric conversion efficiency of the overall thermoelectric unit 44. Further, the material of the first channel layer 46 and the second channel layer 48 of the thermoelectric unit 44 is not limited to a semiconductor material, and a metal such as ruthenium, copper, iridium, nickel, cobalt or other suitable materials may also be used.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7, an insulating layer 50 is formed between the two adjacent first channel layers 46 and the second channel layer 48. In the present embodiment, the first channel layer 46, the insulating layer 50 and the second channel layer 48 are sequentially arranged in the horizontal direction, and the insulating layer 50 is located between the first channel layer 46 and the second channel layer 48. The material of the insulating layer 50 may include an inorganic material such as silicon nitride, silicon oxide, silicon oxynitride or nitrogen-doped silicon carbide (SiCN), organic material. For example, an acrylic resin or other suitable insulating material. In this embodiment, the material of the insulating layer 50 is silicon dioxide, but not limited thereto. The method of forming the thermoelectric unit 44 and the insulating layer 50 of the present invention is not limited to the above method. For example, a plurality of unconnected insulating layers 50 may be formed first, and then a first channel layer 46 and a second channel layer 48 may be formed between the two adjacent insulating layers 50, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 8, a plurality of first connection electrodes 52 are then formed on the thermoelectric unit 44. There is a gap between each of the adjacent first connection electrodes 52, that is, each of the first connection electrodes 52 is a separate pattern and is not in contact with each other. The material of the first connection electrode 52 may include a material having good electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity, and may preferably include a non-transparent conductive material such as silver, aluminum, copper, magnesium or molybdenum, a transparent conductive material such as indium tin oxide, indium zinc oxide or Alumina zinc, a composite layer of the above materials or an alloy of the above materials, but is not limited thereto. In detail, in the embodiment, each of the first connection electrodes 52 is electrically connected to the first channel layer 46 and the second channel layer 48 of the corresponding thermoelectric unit 44, and each of the second connection electrodes 42 is corresponding to the thermoelectricity. The second channel layer 48 of unit 44 and the adjacent thermoelectric The first channel layer 46 of the unit 44 is electrically connected. In other words, the second channel layer 48 of each thermoelectric unit 44 is electrically connected to the first channel layer 46 of the adjacent thermoelectric unit 44. Therefore, the thermoelectric unit 44 can be connected in series through the first connection electrode 52 and the second connection electrode 42. But not limited to this. In other variant embodiments, the thermoelectric units 44 may also be electrically connected to each other in other ways, by electrically connecting in parallel, or a part of the thermoelectric units 44 may be electrically connected in series and another part of the thermoelectric units 44 may be connected in parallel. Mode electrical connection.

Next, as shown in FIG. 9, an opening is formed in a patterning process (eg, a photolithography process) on the first connection electrode 52 on the corresponding portion of the insulating layer 50, wherein the opening exposes a portion of the insulating layer 50 and is open The diameter can be r1. Next, as shown in Figure 10. A hot end insulating substrate 54 is formed on the insulating layer 50 and the first connecting electrode 52 to form a thermoelectric module 58. The material of the hot-end insulating substrate 54 may be an insulating material having good thermal conductivity, and preferably includes a ceramic material having good insulating properties and thermal conductivity, but is not limited thereto. The hot-end insulating base material 54 may be a semiconductor tantalum substrate having a surface coated with ruthenium dioxide or an aluminum composite substrate having an anodized surface. Subsequently, a portion of the hot-end insulating substrate 54 corresponding to each of the first connection electrodes 52 is opened, and a contact hole 56 is formed by a patterning process (for example, a photolithography process), wherein the contact hole 56 partially exposes the driving element 18, for example. That is, the contact hole 56 portion partially exposes the transfer electrode 38. Further, the diameter of the contact hole 56 may be r2, and the diameter r2 of the contact hole 56 may be smaller than the diameter r1 of the opening, whereby the contact hole 56 does not expose the first connection electrode 52.

As shown in FIG. 11 , a plurality of lower electrodes 60 are formed on the thermoelectric module 58 and in the pixel region 14 respectively, wherein the lower electrodes 60 are electrically connected to the driving element 18 via the contact holes 56 respectively, for example, the lower electrode 60 can be The gate electrode 24 of the driving element 18 is electrically connected via the switching electrode 38. The material of the lower electrode 60 may preferably comprise a non-transparent conductive material such as silver, aluminum, copper, magnesium or molybdenum, a transparent conductive material such as indium tin oxide, indium zinc oxide or aluminum zinc oxide, a composite layer of the above materials or an alloy of the above materials. , but not limited to this.

Next, as shown in FIG. 12, a patterned bank layer is formed on the hot-end insulating substrate 54 and the lower electrode 60, wherein the patterned bank layer 62 includes a plurality of openings 62A, and the openings 62A are respectively Located in the pixel area 14. In this embodiment, the material of the patterned bank layer 62 may be an organic insulating material, and preferably may be photosensitive, whereby the pattern may be defined by an exposure and development process, but not limited thereto. The material of the patterned bank layer 62 may preferably include organic materials such as photoresist, benzocyclobutene (BCB), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polyoxymethylene (POM), and polybutylene terephthalate ( PBT), polycaprolactone (PCL), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polycarbonate (PC), polyester, polyethylene (PE), poly(phenylene ketone) (PEEK) , but not limited to polylactic acid (PLA), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS) or polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC). The patterned bank layer 62 may be a single layer or a multilayer structure, and the material thereof may be other suitable inorganic materials, organic materials (for example, may be selected from the above organic materials) or organic/inorganic hybrid materials. At least one reflective layer 66 can then be selectively formed on the patterned bank layer 62, wherein the reflective layer 66 can be disposed at least on the sidewall 68 of the opening 62A of the patterned bank layer 62, and the reflective layer 66 can be further disposed on the lower electrode 60 is electrically connected to the lower electrode 60. The reflective layer 66 can be a single layer or a multilayer structure, the material of which includes a reflective material such as a metal, alloy, or other suitable material.

Next, as shown in FIG. 13, a plurality of light-emitting elements 74 are then fixed and electrically connected to the respective reflective layers 66 by a plurality of conductive adhesive layers 72, respectively. Light-emitting element 74 can include an inorganic light-emitting diode element, an organic light-emitting diode element, or other various types of electroluminescent light elements. In the present embodiment, the light-emitting element 74 preferably includes a plurality of inorganic light-emitting diode elements, wherein each of the inorganic light-emitting diode elements includes a first electrode 78, a second electrode 80, and a P-N diode layer 82. The second electrode 80 is disposed on the first electrode 78, and the P-N diode layer 82 is disposed between the first electrode 78 and the second electrode 80. For example, the method of the embodiment may use a micromechanical device to clamp or suck the fabricated inorganic light emitting diode element and fix and electrically connect the inorganic light emitting diode element to the reflective layer 66 by using the conductive adhesive layer 72. on. That is, the conductive adhesive layer 72 is interposed between each of the reflective layers 66 and the first electrode 78 of each of the inorganic light emitting diode elements. Conductive adhesion Layer 72 is electrically conductive and has meltable characteristics whereby the conductive adhesive layer 72 can be melted using a thermal process. The following method can be utilized for the fixed inorganic light-emitting diode element. A corresponding conductive adhesive layer 72 is formed on the reflective layer 66, and the conductive adhesive layer 72 is melted, and then the inorganic light emitting diode element is placed on the corresponding conductive adhesive layer 72 and is in contact with the conductive adhesive layer 72. After the conductive adhesive layer 72 is cured, the inorganic light-emitting diode element can be adhered and electrically connected to the reflective layer 66; or the conductive adhesive layer 72 is first formed on the inorganic light-emitting diode element, and the conductive adhesive layer is formed. 72 is melted, and then the conductive adhesive layer 72 on the inorganic light-emitting diode element is placed on the corresponding reflective layer 66 and in contact with the reflective layer 66. After the conductive adhesive layer 72 is cured, the inorganic light-emitting diode can be made. The component is bonded and electrically connected to the reflective layer 66. The conductive adhesive layer 72 may be a conductive paste or other suitable conductive material, and the conductive material may be, for example, indium (In), bismuth (Bi), tin (Sn), silver (Ag), gold, copper, gallium (Ga) and At least one of 锑(Sb), but not limited to this. Next, a plurality of filling layers 84 are respectively filled into the openings 62A and respectively surround the corresponding light-emitting elements 74. In the present embodiment, the filling layer 84 is a space formed by filling between the inorganic light emitting diode element and the reflective layer 66, respectively. Subsequently, at least one upper electrode 86 is formed on the filling layer 84 and electrically connected to the second electrode 80 of the light emitting element 74 to fabricate the display panel 1 of the embodiment, wherein the material of the upper electrode 86 may be a transparent conductive material such as Indium tin oxide, indium zinc oxide or aluminum zinc oxide, whereby light emitted from the light-emitting element 74 can penetrate the upper electrode 86 to provide a display effect. It is to be noted that the light-emitting element 74 of the present invention is not limited to the use of the conductive adhesive layer 72 to fix and electrically connect the light-emitting elements 74 to the respective reflective layers 66, or may be patterned by a process such as photolithography. The process forms an opening in each of the reflective layers 66, and the light-emitting elements 74 are respectively fixed and electrically connected to the lower electrodes 60 by the conductive adhesive layer 72. In addition, the light-emitting element 74 of the present invention may be formed on each of the lower electrodes 60 or the reflective layers 66 without using the conductive adhesive layer 72, but is not limited thereto. In addition, this embodiment is described by taking a light-emitting element 74 in each pixel area 14 as an example, but is not limited thereto. In other variant embodiments, a plurality of light-emitting elements 74 may also be provided in each pixel region 14.

Please continue to refer to Figure 13, which is a schematic diagram of the display panel. As shown in Figure 13 The structure of the display panel 1 of the present invention includes a substrate 12, a pixel array 16 and a thermoelectric module 58. The substrate 12 includes a plurality of pixel regions 14. The pixel array 16 is disposed on the substrate 12, wherein the pixel array 16 includes a plurality of driving elements 18 and a plurality of light emitting elements 74. The driving elements 18 and the light emitting elements 74 are disposed in the pixel area 14. The thermoelectric module 58 is disposed in the pixel array 16. The thermoelectric module 58 is an element that can drive the carrier to move to form a current by using a temperature gradient or a temperature difference, that is, the thermoelectric module 58 can convert heat into electrical energy. Taking the embodiment as an example, the light-emitting element 74 and the thermoelectric module 58 share the hot-end insulating substrate 54. When the display panel 1 is in operation, the temperature of the hot-end insulating substrate 54 is higher than the temperature of the cold-end insulating substrate 40 located on the other side of the thermoelectric module 58, since the material of the first semiconductor layer of the present embodiment is P-type. The germanium is doped, so that most of the carriers in the first semiconductor layer are holes, and the holes in the first semiconductor layer can be driven by the temperature gradient between the hot-end insulating substrate 54 and the cold-end insulating substrate 40. The cold end insulating substrate 40 moves. On the other hand, the material of the second semiconductor layer of the present embodiment is an N-type doped germanium, so that most of the carriers in the second semiconductor layer are electrons, and the hot-end insulating substrate 54 and the cold-end insulating substrate 40 are used. The temperature gradient between the electrodes drives the electrons in the second semiconductor layer to move toward the cold-end insulating substrate 40. In this way, if the first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer in each of the thermoelectric units 44 are connected in series through the first connection electrode 52 and the second connection electrode 42, a current can be formed in the thermoelectric module 58 and Further, the thermoelectric module 58 is electrically connected to a load outside the pixel array 16 to output a corresponding voltage. In detail, the first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer of each of the thermoelectric units 44 in the thermoelectric module 58 can be connected in series by the first connection electrode 52 and the second connection electrode 42, and the thermoelectric module 58 can be The first connection electrode 52 or the second connection electrode 42 is connected to the power module 88, but is not limited thereto. In other variant embodiments, the thermoelectric units 44 may also be electrically connected to each other in other ways, by electrically connecting in parallel, or a part of the thermoelectric units 44 may be electrically connected in series and another part of the thermoelectric units 44 may be connected in parallel. Mode electrical connection. In detail, in the thermoelectric unit 44 electrically connected to each other in the embodiment, the first connection electrode 52 or the second connection electrode corresponding to the first channel layer 46 or the second channel layer 48 of the thermoelectric unit 44 of the two terminals 42 can be electrically connected to the auxiliary power source 92 in the power module 88 through a wire, and the power generated by the thermoelectric unit 44 is output to the power module 88. But not limited to this. In other variant embodiments, the first connection electrode 52 or the second connection electrode 42 corresponding to the two first channel layers 46 or the second channel layer 48 may be selected from the thermoelectric units 44 electrically connected to each other, and The auxiliary power source 92 in the power module 88 is electrically connected through a wire. Alternatively, when the thermoelectric unit 44 is divided into multiple arrays, and the thermoelectric units 44 in different groups are not electrically connected to each other, two of the first channel layers 46 or the second may be selected among the thermoelectric units 44 in each group. The first connecting electrode 52 or the second connecting electrode 42 corresponding to the channel layer 48 is electrically connected to the auxiliary power source 92 in the power module 88 through a wire. Therefore, when the display panel 1 is in operation, the thermoelectric module 58 can convert the heat generated by the light-emitting element 74 into electrical energy output to the power module 88, thereby achieving the effect of simultaneously dissipating heat and generating additional electrical energy.

In this embodiment, the thermoelectric module 58 includes a hot end insulating substrate 54, a cold end insulating substrate 40, and a plurality of thermoelectric units 44, and the thermoelectric unit 44 is disposed on the hot end insulating substrate 54 and the cold end insulating substrate. Between 40. The hot-end insulating substrate 54 is disposed between the light-emitting element 74 and the thermoelectric unit 44, and the cold-end insulating substrate 40 is disposed between the thermoelectric unit 44 and the driving element 18. In other words, the hot end insulating substrate 54 is closer to the light emitting element 74 and the cold end insulating substrate 40 is further from the light emitting element 74. Each thermoelectric unit 44 includes a first channel layer 46 and a second channel layer 48. The material of the first channel layer 46 and the second channel layer 48 can be selected from the Seebeck coefficient of each material in accordance with the formula of the Seebeck effect, and then based on the voltage to be generated by the thermoelectric module 58. Table 1 lists the materials of the first channel layer 46 and the second channel layer 48 of the thermoelectric unit 44 and their Schiebeck coefficients, but not limited thereto. The formula (1) is a formula of the Sibeck effect, where T _h is the temperature of the hot-end insulating substrate 54, T _c is the temperature of the cold-end insulating substrate 40, a _a is the Sbeck coefficient of the first channel layer 46, a _b The Sibeck coefficient of the second channel layer 48, n is the number of series connected to the thermoelectric unit 44, and ΔV _ab is the voltage difference generated by the thermoelectric module 58. For example, if the thermoelectric module 58 includes three series of thermoelectric units 44, the materials of the first channel layer 46 and the second channel layer 48 of each thermoelectric unit 44 are P-type doped N and N-type doped 矽, respectively. The temperature difference between the two ends of the thermoelectric module 58 is 5 ° C to 80 ° C, and the thermoelectric module 58 can generate a voltage difference of 0.0135 volts to 0.22 volts. It is worth mentioning that the formula (1) shows that the voltage difference generated by the thermoelectric module 58 is proportional to the difference between the material of the first channel layer 46 and the second channel layer 48 in the thermoelectric unit 44. That is to say, the greater the difference between the Sibeck coefficients of the materials of the first channel layer 46 and the second channel layer 48, the higher the thermoelectric conversion efficiency of the thermoelectric module 58. It can be seen from the above that the thermoelectric unit 44 can provide better thermoelectric conversion efficiency if the P-type semiconductor and the N-type semiconductor are respectively used as the first channel layer 46 and the second channel layer 48 in the thermoelectric unit 44. The material selection of the first channel layer 46 and the second channel layer 48 of the thermoelectric unit 44 is not limited to the above. For example, the materials of the first channel layer 46 and the second channel layer 48 may be matched according to the thermoelectric module 58. The process compatibility of the device is chosen. In addition, the thermoelectric unit 44 in the thermoelectric module 58 is not limited to the series. For example, the thermoelectric unit 44 may be in parallel or a combination of series and parallel.

V _ab =n(a _a -a _b )(T _h -T _c )...Formula (1)

In this embodiment, the light-emitting element 74 in the display panel 1 includes a plurality of inorganic light-emitting diode elements, but is not limited thereto. Each of the inorganic light emitting diode elements includes a first electrode 78, a second electrode 80, and a P-N diode layer 82. The second electrode 80 is disposed on the first electrode 78 and the P-N diode layer 82 is disposed between the first electrode 78 and the second electrode 80, wherein the P-N diode layer 82 may be any suitable semiconductor material and will not be described herein. In addition to the PN diode layer 82, the inorganic light-emitting diode element of the present embodiment may also use a PIN (positive-intrinsic-negative) diode layer, a PI (positive-intrinsic) diode layer, and a NI (negative). -intrinsic) a diode layer, or other suitable diode layer, or a series/parallel connection of at least two of the above-described diode layers. In addition, the inorganic light-emitting diode element of the embodiment may be a micro-inorganic light-emitting diode (or micro-level LED, μ-LED) whose size (length and width) is substantially less than 5 micrometers, that is, inorganic light-emitting. The size of the diode is less than the micron level, but not limited to this. In addition, this embodiment is described as an example in which each of the pixel regions 14 includes a light-emitting element 74, but is not limited thereto. In other variant embodiments, a plurality of light-emitting elements 74 may also be included in each pixel region 14.

In the display panel 1 of the present embodiment, the driving element 18 is disposed between the substrate 12 and the thermoelectric module 58 , and the thermoelectric module 58 is disposed between the driving element 18 and the light emitting element 74 . In addition, a plurality of lower electrodes 60 are disposed on the thermoelectric module 58 and respectively located in the pixel region 14, wherein the insulating layer 50 of each pixel region 14 has a contact hole 56, and the contact hole 56 exposes a portion of the driving component. 18. The lower electrode 60 is electrically connected to the driving element 18 via the contact hole 56, and the light emitting element 74 is respectively disposed on the lower electrode 60 and electrically connected to the driving element 18 via the lower electrode 60 (or through the reflective layer 66 and the lower electrode). 60 is electrically connected), so each driving element 18 can provide a signal to the corresponding light-emitting element 74 through the lower electrode 60. In the present embodiment, the patterned bank layer 62 may be disposed on the hot end insulating substrate 54, which may have a plurality of openings 62A respectively located in the pixel region 14, and the light emitting elements 74 are respectively located in the openings 62A. Furthermore, at least one reflective layer 66 can be disposed on the sidewall 68 in the opening 62A of the patterned bank layer 62. The reflective layer 66 reflects the light emitted from the side of the light-emitting element 74 toward the light-emitting surface to increase the brightness of the display panel 1. In the present embodiment, a plurality of filling layers 84 are respectively filled into the openings 62A and respectively surround the corresponding light-emitting elements 74, wherein the filling layer 84 can provide the function of protecting the light-emitting elements 74 and can guide the light emitted by the light-emitting elements 74. Travel in the direction of the light surface to enhance the display. At least one upper electrode 86 is disposed on the filling layer 84 and electrically connected to the second electrode 80 of the light emitting element 74. In addition, the upper electrode 86 is optional The ground is electrically connected to a plurality of light-emitting elements 74 located in different pixel regions 14, whereby a plurality of light-emitting elements 74 located in different pixel regions 14 can receive a common signal.

Referring to FIG. 14, FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a variation of the pixel area of the display panel of the present invention. Different from the above embodiments, the display panel 1 of the present embodiment does not have the adapter electrode, so the lower electrode 60 is directly electrically connected to the drain electrode 24 exposed by the protective layer 33 via the contact hole 56, so that the driving components are respectively driven. 18 can provide a signal through the lower electrode 60 to the corresponding light-emitting element 74. The other elements in the display panel of the present embodiment can be the same as the above embodiment, and can be referred to FIG. 13 and will not be described again. The manufacturing method of the display panel 1 of the present embodiment is similar to that of the above embodiment, except that the fabrication of the via electrode is omitted in the process, and the cold junction is formed on the driving component 18 after the driving component 18, the dielectric layer 32 and the protective layer 33 are formed. Insulating substrate 40. The manufacturing method of the components in the remaining display panels in this embodiment is the same as that in the above embodiment, and can be referred to in FIGS. 3 to 13 and therefore will not be described herein.

In summary, the display panel of the present invention is provided with a thermoelectric module on the pixel array, and the thermoelectric module is electrically connected to the power module. That is to say, in addition to being a heat dissipation system of the display panel, the thermoelectric module can also be used as a secondary power supply system to reduce the energy consumption of the display panel, since the power converted from the thermoelectric module can be transmitted to the power module. The thermoelectric module of the present invention shares the hot-end insulating substrate with the light-emitting element, thereby providing a good heat-dissipating effect of the display panel. In addition, since the thermoelectric module of the present invention is disposed on the pixel array, the thermoelectric conversion area available in the present invention is larger than the area in which the thermoelectric module is generally disposed in the peripheral region or other position of the display panel, so the heat dissipation effect is obtained. And the amount of electrical energy that can be generated is also relatively large. Furthermore, the thermoelectric module of the present invention is disposed on the pixel array, so that the process for fabricating the thermoelectric module can be integrated into the process of the general display panel, and the thermoelectric module is not separately required, and can be made with a large area of the display panel. .

The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and all of the scopes of the patent application according to the present invention are Equivalent changes and modifications are intended to be within the scope of the present invention.

1‧‧‧ display panel

12P‧‧‧ surrounding area

12D‧‧‧ display area

16‧‧‧ pixel array

58‧‧‧Thermal module

88‧‧‧Power Module

90‧‧‧Main power supply

92‧‧‧Auxiliary power supply

Claims (14)

A display panel comprising: a substrate comprising a plurality of pixel regions; a pixel array disposed on the substrate, wherein the pixel array comprises: a plurality of driving elements disposed in the pixel regions; and a plurality of pixels The light-emitting elements are disposed in the pixel regions and electrically connected to the driving elements respectively; and a thermoelectric module is disposed in the pixel array, wherein the thermoelectric module comprises a hot-end insulating substrate, A cold-end insulating substrate and a plurality of thermoelectric units, and the thermoelectric units are disposed between the hot-end insulating substrate and the cold-end insulating substrate and electrically connected to each other. The display panel of claim 1, further comprising a power module, wherein the thermoelectric module is electrically connected to the power module, and the power generated by the thermoelectric module is provided to the power module. The display panel of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of insulating layers disposed between the hot end insulating substrate and the cold end insulating substrate, wherein each of the thermoelectric units comprises: a first channel layer; and a first a second channel layer, wherein the first channel layer and the second channel layer have different Seebeck coefficients, and the second channel layer of each of the thermoelectric units and the first channel of the adjacent thermoelectric unit The layers are electrically connected, and the insulating layers are respectively disposed between the two adjacent first channel layers and the second channel layer. The display panel of claim 3, wherein the first channel layer comprises a first semiconductor layer having a first doping pattern, and the second channel layer comprises a second semiconductor layer having a second doping pattern And the first doping pattern is different from the second doping pattern. The display panel of claim 3, wherein the first channel layer, the insulating layer and the second channel layer in each of the thermoelectric units are sequentially disposed in the pixel array in a horizontal direction. The display panel of claim 3, wherein the thermoelectric module further comprises a plurality of first connecting electrodes and a plurality of second connecting electrodes, wherein the first connecting electrodes are located at the thermoelectric units and the hot end insulating substrate The second connecting electrodes are located between the thermoelectric units and the cold end insulating substrate, and the first connecting electrodes and the corresponding first and second channel layers of the thermoelectric unit Electrically connected, and each of the second connecting electrodes is electrically connected to the second channel layer of the corresponding thermoelectric unit and the first channel layer of the adjacent thermoelectric unit. The display panel of claim 1, wherein the light emitting elements comprise a plurality of inorganic light emitting diode elements. The display panel of claim 7, wherein each of the inorganic light emitting diode elements comprises: a first electrode; a second electrode disposed on the first electrode; and a PN diode layer disposed on the first An electrode and the second electrode. The display panel of claim 7, wherein the driving elements are disposed between the substrate and the thermoelectric module, and the thermoelectric module is disposed between the driving elements and the light emitting elements. The display panel of claim 9, further comprising a patterned bank layer disposed on the hot end insulating substrate, wherein the patterned bank layer has a plurality of openings respectively located at the pixels In the region, the light-emitting elements are respectively located in the openings. The display panel of claim 10, further comprising at least one reflective layer, wherein the at least one reflective layer is disposed on sidewalls of the openings of the patterned dam layer. The display panel of claim 9, further comprising a plurality of lower electrodes disposed on the thermoelectric module and respectively located in the pixel regions, wherein the insulating layer of each of the pixel regions has a contact hole portion exposed Corresponding to the driving elements, the lower electrodes are electrically connected to the driving elements via the contact holes, and the light emitting elements are respectively disposed on the lower electrodes and respectively connected to the lower electrodes and the like The drive components are electrically connected. The display panel of claim 12, further comprising a plurality of filling layers and at least one upper electrode, wherein the filling layers are respectively filled in the openings and respectively surround the corresponding light emitting elements, and the at least one upper electrode And being disposed on the filling layers and electrically connected to the second electrodes of the light emitting elements. The display panel of claim 1, wherein at least a part of the thermoelectric units are electrically connected in series.