US20190097180A1

US20190097180A1 - Substrate unit, display device and method for manufacturing display device

Info

Publication number: US20190097180A1
Application number: US16/199,041
Authority: US
Inventors: Wei-Yen WU; Yu-Yao Chen; Jiun-Ru TZENG; Chi-Che Tsai; Ker-Yih Kao
Original assignee: Innolux Corp
Current assignee: Innolux Corp
Priority date: 2015-07-17
Filing date: 2018-11-23
Publication date: 2019-03-28
Also published as: US10177346B2; TWI551440B; TW201704017A; US20170017102A1

Abstract

A substrate unit, a display device, and a method for manufacturing the display device are disclosed. The substrate unit includes a carrier plate, a glass substrate and an interlayer disposed between the carrier plate and the glass substrate. The thickness of the glass substrate is less than that of the carrier plate, and the thickness of the interlayer is less than that of the glass substrate. The display device includes a first glass substrate, a second glass substrate, a device layer and a sealing layer. The device layer and the sealing layer are disposed between the first glass substrate and the second glass substrate, wherein the sealing layer, the first glass substrate and the second glass substrate form an enclosed space, and the device layer is disposed in the enclosed space. The thickness of the first glass substrate is between 0.05 mm and 0.3 mm.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Divisional Application (DA) of an earlier filed, pending, application, having application Ser. No. 15/183,527 and filed on Jun. 15, 2016, the content of which, including drawings, is expressly incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of Invention

The invention relates to a substrate unit, a display device, and a method for manufacturing the display device.

Related Art

With the advance of technology, flat display devices have been broadly applied to various fields, for example liquid crystal display devices or organic light emitting diode (OLED) display devices. Because flat display devices have superior characteristics of compact volume, low power consumption and low radiation, they gradually replace conventional cathode ray tube display devices and are applied to various electronic products such as mobile phones, portable media devices, laptops, tablet computers, and other display devices.
Because of large-scale, thin and lightweight requirements of a display device, a thinner glass substrate of a display panel is developed from the thickness of 0.5 mm-0.7 mm to the thickness of 0.3 mm (or less). However, if the thickness of the glass substrate is equal to or less than 0.3 mm, the process of forming semiconductor devices for displaying on the surface of the glass substrate cannot be implemented by the existing manufacturing equipment due to thinness and insufficient rigidity of the thin glass substrate.
One conventional solution is to attach a thin glass to another thicker glass carrier plate to increase its rigidity, and then they will be separated after the manufacturing process is accomplished. However, in a subsequent high temperature process (higher than 250° C. for example), silicon and oxygen bonds (—Si—O—Si—) between the glass carrier plate and the thin glass are formed, which results in difficult separation between the thin glass and the glass carrier plate.
Another conventional solution is to attach a thin glass to a glass carrier plate by adhesion using glue material. However, because general glue materials have poor heat resistances, excess glue or bubbles occur during coating. Moreover, some residual glue during separation results in less efficiency for recycling the glass carrier plate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aspect of the disclosure is to provide a substrate unit, a display device, and a method for manufacturing the display device adapted to the existing manufacturing equipment for production and meeting the large-scale, thin and lightweight requirements of display device.
A method for manufacturing the display device includes the steps of: providing a first carrier plate and forming a first interlayer on the first carrier plate; disposing a first glass substrate on the first interlayer to form a first substrate unit; forming a first device layer on the first glass substrate to obtain a first device substrate; providing a second carrier plate and forming a second interlayer on the second carrier plate; disposing a second glass substrate on the second interlayer to form a second substrate unit; oppositely placing and then combining the second substrate unit and the first device substrate; and separating the first glass substrate from the first interlayer and separating the second glass substrate from the second interlayer to obtain the display device. Alternatively, the method may further include the steps of: separating the second glass substrate from the second interlayer; forming an electrode layer on an exterior surface of the second glass substrate away from the first glass substrate; and separating the first glass substrate from the first interlayer to obtain the display device. By the manufacturing process mentioned above, the substrate unit and the display device can be produced by the existing manufacturing equipment, and the display device can also meet the large-scale, thin and lightweight requirements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description and accompanying drawings, which are given for illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a flow chart of the steps of the method for manufacturing a display device according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2A to FIG. 2G are schematic diagrams of the manufacturing process of the display device according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 3A to FIG. 3F are schematic diagrams of the manufacturing process of the display device according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 4A to FIG. 4F are schematic diagrams of the manufacturing process of the display device according to the third embodiment;

FIG. 5A to FIG. 5F are schematic diagrams of the manufacturing process of the display device according to the fourth embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of the steps of the method for manufacturing a display device according to another embodiment; and

FIG. 7A to FIG. 7D are schematic diagrams of the manufacturing process of the display device according to the fourth embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The embodiments of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein the same references relate to the same elements.
A cleaning process such as water wash or ozone ashing is performed on the surfaces of a carrier plate and a thin glass substrate before a process for thinning the display device. After the cleaning process, hydroxyl groups (—OH) are formed on the surfaces of the carrier plate and the thin glass substrate. If the carrier plate is directly attached to the thin glass substrate, a subsequent high temperature process (>250° C.) will cause reactions of hydroxyl groups between them to form silicon and oxygen bonds (—Si—O—Si—) so the carrier plate and the thin glass substrate will not be easily separated and it is difficult to make the display device thinner and recycle the carrier plate for reuse. The disclosure provides the following manufacturing process to avoid the aforementioned problems. The process is implemented by the existing manufacturing equipment for production, and the produced display device meets the large-scale, thin and lightweight requirements. Technologies of a substrate unit, a device substrate, and a display device including a substrate unit and a device substrate can be realized by the following detailed description of a method for manufacturing a display device.
Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2A to FIG. 2G, FIG. 1 is a flow chart of steps of a method for manufacturing a display device according to an embodiment, and FIG. 2A to FIG. 2G are schematic diagrams of the manufacturing process of the display device 3 according to the first embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 1, the method for manufacturing the display device includes the step S01 to the step S07.
First, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2A, the step S01 is to provide a first carrier plate 11 and form a first interlayer 12 on the first carrier plate 11. Here, the first carrier plate 11 for example a glass carrier plate or a silicon substrate is heat resistant, and it may still be thick enough to be a support and meet the requirement of thickness for a process machine. The first interlayer 12 is formed on the first carrier plate 11 by, for example, a coating method such as dip coating, roll coating, print coating, spin coating or the like, but it is not limited thereto. Moreover, the first interlayer 12 can be coated on the first carrier plate 11 and 2 to 5 mm distant from the edge of the first carrier plate 11 by physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), slit coater, or other coating equipment. In addition, the first interlayer 12 can tolerate high temperature of 250° C. to 800° C., preferably, 600° C. to 800° C. It can also tolerate a subsequent semiconductor device process for amorphous silicon (a-Si), amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide (a-IGZO), c-axis aligned crystal indium gallium zinc oxide (CAAC-IGZO), low temperature poly silicon (LTPS) or the like. The material of the first interlayer 12 can be a metal, a metal oxide (e.g. indium tin oxide (ITO)), a silicon oxide (e.g. SiOx), an organosilicon compound, an organotitanium compound, an organoaluminum compound, or an organic polymer, and it is not limited thereto.
In one embodiment, the first interlayer 12 may be formed by, for example, the below organosilicon compound:
Here, R1, R2 and R3 are each independently C1-6 alkyl groups, X is silicon (Si), titanium (Ti) or aluminum (Al), and Y is a hydrophobic functional group. When the first carrier plate 11 is coated with the above compound, a hydroxyl group (—OH) formed by hydrolysis and self-condensation can act as a reactive functional group to react with a hydroxyl group exposed on the surface of the first carrier plate 11 so as to form a bond. Then, after further hydrolysis and condensation reactions, part or all of the bonds can be condensed and form oxygen bonds, which results in difficult separation between the first carrier plate 11 and the first interlayer 12. Moreover, because the hydrophobic functional groups Y will not react with the first carrier plate 11, the hydrophobic functional groups Y can be exposed on the surface of the first interlayer 12 after hydrolysis and condensation reactions. Thereby, a hydrophobic surface is formed (referred to as a first release surface here).
Subsequently, the step S02 is performed to dispose a first glass substrate 13 on the first interlayer 12 to form a first substrate unit U1 (referred to as a substrate unit U1). Here, air between the first glass substrate 13 and the first interlayer 12 is excluded by, for example, vacuum lamination or stamping with a stamping machine so as to generate a pressure difference between two sides of the first glass substrate 13. Thereby, the first glass substrate 13 is disposed on the first carrier plate 11 having the first interlayer 12 by atmospheric pressure and the electrostatic force between the first glass substrate 13 and the first interlayer 12. In the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2A, a roller A is used to extrude air between the first glass substrate 13 and the first interlayer 12 (stamping with a stamping machine) to dispose the first glass substrate 13 on the first interlayer 12. For better utilization of glass, the size of the first glass substrate 13 cannot be much less than that of the first carrier plate 11. Preferably, the edge of the first glass substrate 13 is located about 1 to 2 mm distant from the edge of the first carrier plate 11. The thickness of the first glass substrate 13 is less than that of the first carrier plate 11, and the thickness of the first interlayer 12 is less than that of the first glass substrate 13. Here, the thickness of the first glass substrate 13 may be between 0.05 mm and 0.3 mm (0.05 mm≤the thickness of the first glass substrate 13≤0.3 mm, and the thickness of the first interlayer 12 may be between 0.01 μm and 2 μm (0.01 μm≤the thickness of the first interlayer 12≤2 μm). The material of the first glass substrate 13 may be glass. The first glass substrate 13 itself can be a support, and itself is flexible, chemical-resistant and capable of blocking water and oxygen. Thus, it can be used as a substrate for an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display, a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a light-emitting diode (LED) display. Moreover, the first glass substrate 13 can tolerate higher temperature in comparison with the first interlayer 12 to accomplish the above-mentioned processes for low temperature poly silicon and other devices or other processes such as laser debonding or laser curing.
The surface roughness of the material of the first interlayer 12 needs to be less than 10 nm RMS (root mean square). The excessive surface roughness will cause insufficient contact area so bad attaching, bubbles, mura or the like may occur. These problems easily cause the abnormal misjudgment at an inspection station in subsequent processes, or the peeling at the interface between the first glass substrate 13 and the first carrier plate 11 occurs due to reagents seeping into the interface in the processes.
In the first interlayer 12, the first release surface (namely hydrophobic surface) is a surface adjacent to (facing) the first glass substrate 13. The hydrophilic/hydrophobic properties of the first release surface relate to the adhesion force between the first interlayer 12 and the first glass substrate 13. Therefore, dilution ratios between the above-mentioned compounds and solvents can be changed, or bondings between hydrophobic functional groups Y and X can be more selectively broken by an illumination process to adjust the proportion of exposed hydrophobic functional groups Y. Then, the hydrophilic/hydrophobic properties of the hydrophobic surface can be controlled (namely the water contact angle can be controlled), so the adhesion force between the first interlayer 12 and the first carrier plate 11 is greater than that between the first interlayer 12 and the first glass substrate 13. Accordingly, a subsequent separation of the first interlayer 12 and the first glass substrate 13 becomes easier. Here, the water contact angle of the first release surface (hydrophobic surface) of the first interlayer 12 may be between 40° and 90°, preferably, between 50° and 80°.
In another embodiment, if the first interlayer 12 is a polymer layer formed by organic polymers, a surface modification method can be used to modify the surface of the first interlayer 12. Here, the surface modification method may include an ionized gas treatment, UV irradiation, or a wet chemical treatment. Thereby, the hydrophobic functional groups Y is exposed on the surface of the first interlayer 12 to form a hydrophobic surface.
Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 2C, the step S03 is performed to form a first device layer 14 on the first glass substrate 13 to obtain a first device substrate E1 (referred to as a device substrate E1). Here, the first device layer 14 may include a thin film transistor (TFT) device, a color filter, an organic light emitting diode unit (including a TFT device and an organic light emitting device), or a touch device. The material of the active layer of the above-mentioned TFT device may be the above mentioned amorphous silicon, amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide, c-axis aligned crystal indium gallium zinc oxide, or low temperature poly silicon. In the embodiment, the first device layer 14 includes an organic light emitting diode unit, and the first device substrate E1 is an organic light emitting diode substrate.
Then, as shown in FIG. 2D, the step S04 is to provide a second carrier plate 21 and form a second interlayer 22 on the second carrier plate 21; the step S05 is to dispose a second glass substrate 23 on the second interlayer 22 to form a second substrate unit U2. Here, the step S04 can refer to the above step S01, the step S05 can refer to the above step S02, so they are not repeated here. For example, the second substrate unit U2 can be obtained first (the step S04 to S05) and then the first device substrate E1 is obtained (the step S01 to S03), or they can be performed simultaneously, and the order is not limited thereto. The materials of the second carrier plate 21, the second interlayer 22, and the second glass substrate 23 may be the same as those of the first carrier plate 11, the first interlayer 12, and the first glass substrate 13, but they are not limited thereto.
Then, the step S06 is performed to oppositely place and then combine the second substrate unit U2 and the first device substrate E1. However, in the embodiment, before the step S06 of oppositely placing and then combining the second substrate unit U2 and the first device substrate E1 is performed, as shown in FIG. 2D, the method for manufacturing the display device can further comprise: forming a sealing layer 27 on the outer periphery of the second glass substrate 23. Here, the sealing layer 27 is a frit and a pre-sintering process can be performed on the sealing layer 27 for example by heat energy (e.g. a laser beam, a high temperature of 400° C. to 500° C.), and then the step S06 of oppositely placing and then combining the second substrate unit U2 and the first device substrate E1 is performed as shown in FIG. 2E. Here, the second substrate unit U2 is inverted and combined with the first device substrate E1, and then the sealing layer 27 is heated from the upper surface of the second carrier plate 21 by heat energy of higher temperature (e.g. a laser beam, a high temperature of 500° C. to 800° C.). Thus, as shown in FIG. 2F, an enclosed space is formed by the sealing layer 27, the first glass substrate 13, and the second glass substrate 23 (this is a sintering sealing process), so the first device layer 14 is located in the enclosed space. Moreover, a linear or planar sealant structure may exist between the sealing layer 27 and the first device layer 14, and a linear or planar sealant structure also may exist between the sealing layer 27 and the fringes of the first glass substrate 13 or the second glass substrate 23 for sealing or support. Furthermore, a transparent filler layer may exist between the first device layer 14, the second glass substrate 23, and the sealing layer 27. The enclosed space can be filled with the transparent filler layer to support the height of the space, and light can penetrate the transparent filler layer. A spacer may exist between the first device layer 14 and the second glass substrate 23 for supporting the height of the space.
Finally, as shown in FIG. 2G, the step S07 is performed to separate the first glass substrate 13 from the first interlayer 12 and separate the second glass substrate 23 and the second interlayer 22 to obtain the display device 3. The first interlayer 12 has a first release surface (hydrophobic surface) whose water contact angle is between 40° and 90°, and the adhesion force between the first interlayer 12 and the first carrier plate 11 is greater than that between the first interlayer 12 and the first glass substrate 13. Therefore, a knife, for example, can be inserted between the first interlayer 12 and the first glass substrate 13 to break the vacuum between the first interlayer 12 and the first glass substrate 13 so as to separate the first glass substrate 13 from the first interlayer 12. Similarly, the second glass substrate 23 is separated from the second interlayer 22 to obtain the display device 3. Here, the display device 3 is an OLED display device. The order of the above-mentioned separation of the first glass substrate 13 from the first interlayer 12 and the separation of the second glass substrate 23 from the second interlayer 22 is not limited.
Accordingly, the above substrate unit (U1, U2), device substrate (E1) and the display device 3 can be produced using the existing manufacturing equipment, and the display device 3 can also meet the large-scale, thin and lightweight requirements. In addition, subsequent to the step S07, the first carrier plate 11 and the second carrier plate 21 can be recycled for reuse after the first carrier plate 11 and the first interlayer 12 in FIG. 2G are separated and the second carrier plate 21 and the second interlayer 22 are separated.
The display device 3 is further illustrated below with FIG. 2G. The display device 3 includes a first glass substrate 13, a second glass substrate 23, a first device layer 14 (referred to as device layer), and a sealing layer 27. Here, the first device layer 14 is disposed between the first glass substrate 13 and the second glass substrate 23. The sealing layer 27 is disposed between the first glass substrate 13 and the second glass substrate 23. An enclosed space is formed by the sealing layer 27, the first glass substrate 13 and the second glass substrate 23. The first device layer 14 is disposed in the enclosed space. The thicknesses of the first glass substrate 13 and the second glass substrate 23 are respectively between 0.05 mm and 0.3 mm, and the exterior surfaces of the first glass substrate 13 and the second glass substrate 23 are smooth surfaces without etched dimples. Here, that “the exterior surfaces of the first glass substrate 13 and the second glass substrate 23 are smooth surfaces without etched dimples” indicates that the first glass substrate 13 and the second glass substrate 23 of the display device 3 are not thinned by conventional chemical etching method (e.g. chemical thinning by hydrofluoric acid (HF)) but directly produced by the above-mentioned steps of the method for manufacturing display device. Therefore, there are not etched dimples (pits) caused by the etching process on the surface of the display device 3.
In the embodiment, the first device layer 14 may include an OLED unit, the sealing layer 27 may be a frit, and the display device 3 is an OLED display device. In another embodiment, the first device layer 14 may include a combination of a TFT device and a color filter and a plurality of liquid crystal molecules, and the sealing layer 27 may be a sealant, so the display device 3 is a liquid crystal display device. In addition, in another embodiment, the display device 3 may further include an electrode layer (not shown in figures) which is disposed on an exterior surface of the second glass substrate 23 away from the first glass substrate 13. Here, the electrode layer may be a touch electrode layer (including a drive electrode and a sensing electrode, Tx and Rx). For example, indium tin oxide (ITO) may be formed on the upper surface of the second glass substrate 23 by a low temperature process (e.g. less than 120° C.), so the display device 3 is a display device with a touch function.
Moreover, the manufacturing process of the display device according to the second embodiment is illustrated with FIG. 1 and FIGS. 3A to 3F. Here, FIGS. 3A to 3F are schematic diagrams of the manufacturing process of the display device 3 a according to the second embodiment.
The method for manufacturing the display device 3 a is similar to the above-mentioned steps S01 to S05, so it is not repeated here. As shown in FIG. 3C, the first device layer 14 of the embodiment includes a TFT device, and the first device substrate E1 is a TFT substrate. Moreover, compared with the method for manufacturing the display device 3, before the step S06 of oppositely placing and then combining the second substrate unit U2 (not shown in figures) and the first device substrate E1, as shown in FIG. 3D, the method for manufacturing the display device 3 a in the embodiment can further include: forming a second device layer 24 on the second glass substrate 23 to obtain a second device substrate E2. Here, the second device layer 24 includes a color filter, and the second device substrate E2 is a color filter substrate.
Then, the step S06 is performed. As shown in FIG. 3E, the second substrate unit U2 (the second device substrate E2) is inverted to make the second substrate unit U2 (the second device substrate E2) and the first device substrate E1 oppositely placed, and then the second substrate unit U2 (the second device substrate E2) is combined with the first device substrate E1.
Finally, as shown in FIG. 3F, the step S07 is performed to separate the first glass substrate 13 from the first interlayer 12 and separate the second glass substrate 23 from the second interlayer 22 to obtain the display device 3 a. Here, a knife, for example, can be inserted between the first interlayer 12 and the first glass substrate 13 to break the vacuum between the first interlayer 12 and the first glass substrate 13 so as to separate the first glass substrate 13 from the first interlayer 12. Similarly, the second glass substrate 23 is also separated from the second interlayer 22 to obtain the display device 3 a. In the embodiment, the display device 3 a is a liquid crystal display device. Therefore, before the combination of the above-mentioned step S06, a space on the first device substrate E1 surrounded by a sealant can be filled with liquid crystal molecules by, for example but not limited to, one drop filling (ODF), and then the second device substrate E2 is combined with the first device substrate E1.
Moreover, other illustrations of the display device 3 a and the manufacturing method thereof may refer to the corresponding elements of the above display device 3 and the manufacturing method thereof, so they are repeated here.
Moreover, the manufacturing process of the display device according to the third embodiment is illustrated with FIG. 1 and FIGS. 4A to 4F. FIGS. 4A to 4F are schematic diagrams of the manufacturing process of the display device 3 b according to the third embodiment.
The method for manufacturing the display device 3 b similarly includes the above-mentioned step S01 and step S02. However, before the step S03 of forming the first device layer 14 on the first glass substrate 13, as shown in FIG. 4B, the method for manufacturing the display device 3 b further includes: forming a first function layer 16 on the first carrier plate 11. The first glass substrate 13 is directly disposed on the first interlayer 12, the first function layer 16 is disposed on the lateral peripheries of the first interlayer 12 and the first glass substrate 13. The first function layer 16 connects the first carrier plate 11 and the first glass substrate 13. The first function layer 16 can prevent the reagents in the subsequent processes from seeping into the interface between the first glass substrate 13 and the first interlayer 12 and from damaging the function of the first interlayer 12. Thus, the separation of the first glass substrate 13 and the first interlayer 12 can be easier in the subsequent processes. Because the distance between edges of the first glass substrate 13 and the first carrier plate 11 is 1 mm to 2 mm and the distance between edges of the first interlayer 12 and the first carrier plate 11 is 2 mm to 5 mm, the first glass substrate 13 and the first carrier plate 11 may still be attached and cannot be separated after the high temperature process due to the area of the first carrier plate 11 not covered by the first interlayer 12. Therefore, the first function layer 16 is disposed on the lateral peripheries of the first interlayer 12 and the first glass substrate 13 and covers the area of the first carrier plate 11 that is not covered by the first interlayer 12. The viscosity of the first function layer 16 has to be between 3 and 15 cps to avoid the effusion to the back of the first carrier plate 11 and avoid subsequent contamination to equipment. Moreover, the range that the surface of the first glass substrate 13 is coated with the first function layer 16 is between 0 μm and 500 μm, which avoids that the material cannot be filmed on the surface of the first glass substrate 13 in subsequent device process.
Later, as shown in FIG. 4C, the step S03 is further performed to form the first device layer 14 on the first glass substrate 13 to obtain the first device substrate E1. Similarly, before forming the second device layer 24 on the second glass substrate 23, as shown in FIG. 4D, the method for manufacturing the display device 3 b may further include: forming a second function layer 26 on the second carrier plate 21. The second function layer 26 is disposed on the lateral peripheries of the second interlayer 22 and the second glass substrate 23 to obtain the second device substrate E2. In the embodiment, the materials of the first function layer 16 and the second function layer 26 may respectively be metal, metal oxides, silicon oxides, organosilicon compounds, organotitanium compounds, organoaluminum compounds, or organic polymers, and they are not limited thereto.
Then, the step S06 (FIG. 4E) and the step S07 (FIG. 4F) may refer to above description, so they are not repeated here. In the manufacturing process of the display device 3 b according to the embodiment, the first device layer 14 includes a TFT device, the first device substrate E1 is a TFT substrate, the second device layer 24 includes a color filter, and the second device substrate E2 a color filter substrate. Therefore, the display device 3 b in FIG. 4F is a liquid crystal display device.
In addition, other illustrations of the display device 3 b and the manufacturing method thereof may refer to the corresponding elements of the above display devices 3, 3 a and the manufacturing methods thereof, so they are repeated here.
Moreover, the manufacturing process of the display device according to the fourth embodiment is illustrated with FIG. 1 and FIGS. 5A to 5F. Here, FIGS. 5A to 5F are schematic diagrams of the manufacturing process of the display device 3 c according to the fourth embodiment.
A difference between the methods for manufacturing the display device 3 c and the display device 3 b is that, as shown in FIGS. 5B and 5C, the first function layer 16 covers the lateral periphery and the upper surface of the first interlayer 12 in the manufacturing process of the display device 3 c, so the first function layer 16 may be between the first interlayer 12 and the first glass substrate 13. Similarly, as shown in FIG. 5D, the second function layer 26 covers the lateral periphery and the upper surface of the second interlayer 22, and the second function layer 26 may be between the second interlayer 22 and the second glass substrate 23. Because the step S06 (FIG. 5E) and the step S07 (FIG. 5F) may refer to the above description, they are not repeated here. In the manufacturing process of the display device 3 c according to the embodiment, the first device layer 14 includes a TFT device, the first device substrate E1 is a TFT substrate, the second device layer 24 includes a color filter, and the second device substrate E2 is a color filter substrate. Therefore, the display device 3 c in FIG. 5F is also a liquid crystal display device.
Moreover, other illustrations of the display device 3 c and the manufacturing method thereof may refer to the same devices of the above display devices 3, 3 a, 3 b and the manufacturing methods thereof, so they are repeated here.
Then, the manufacturing process of the display device according to the fourth embodiment is illustrated with FIG. 6 and FIGS. 7A to 7D. Here, FIG. 6 is a flow chart of steps of a method for manufacturing a display device according to another preferred embodiment, and FIGS. 7A to 7D are schematic diagrams of the manufacturing process of the display device 3 d according to the fourth embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 6, the method for manufacturing the display device according to the fourth embodiment includes the steps P01 to P09. Because the steps P01 to P06 are the same as the steps S01 to S06 and they can refer to the above description, they are repeated here. Accordingly, after the process of the step P01 to the step P06, the display device 3 d according to the fourth embodiment has the structure as shown in FIG. 7A. Then, as shown in FIG. 7B, the step P07 is performed to separate the second glass substrate 23 from the second interlayer 22. Here, a knife, for example, can be inserted between the second glass substrate 23 and the second interlayer 22 to break the vacuum between the second glass substrate 23 and the second interlayer 22 so as to separate the second glass substrate 23 and the second interlayer 22.
Because the total thickness of Cell according to the embodiment (0.5t/0.2t/0.2t) is close to the thickness of a product produced by conventional technology (0.5t/0.5t), a process of forming a touch electrode (namely touch on display, TOD) can be directly performed. As shown in FIG. 7C, the step P08 is performed to form an electrode layer 25 on an exterior surface of the second glass substrate 23 away from the first glass substrate 13. Here, the electrode layer 25 is a touch electrode layer (including a drive electrode and a sensing electrode, Tx and Rx). For example, ITO is formed on the upper surface of the second glass substrate 23 by a low temperature process (e.g. less than 120° C.). In this step, if manufacturing the electrode layer 25 is not successful, the electrode layer 25 can be reworked. Therefore, the yield rate of product can be improved.
Finally, as shown in FIG. 7D, the step P09 is further performed to separate the first glass substrate 13 from the first interlayer 12 to obtain the display device 3 d. Therefore, the display device 3 d according to the embodiment includes the first glass substrate 13, the first device layer 14, the second glass substrate 23, the second device layer 24 and the electrode layer 25, and it is a liquid crystal display device with a touch function.
In addition, other illustrations of the display device 3 d and the manufacturing method thereof may refer to the corresponding elements of the above display devices 3, 3 a, 3 b, 3 c and the manufacturing methods thereof, so they are repeated here.
It should be noted that the structures and the features of the first function layer 16 and the second function layer 26 in the manufacturing process of the display device 3 d are the same as those of the first function layer 16 and the second function layer 26 of the display device 3 b. However, in the different embodiment, the structures and the features of the first function layer 16 and the second function layer 26 in the manufacturing process of the display device 3 d may also be the same as those in the manufacturing process of the display device 3 c. Moreover, a person skilled in the art may also apply the step P07 to the step P09 of the manufacturing process of the display device 3 d according to the fourth embodiment to the display devices 3, 3 a, 3 b, and 3 c so as to make the display devices 3, 3 a, 3 b, and 3 c have touch functions, so the process is not repeated here.
In summary, the method for manufacturing the display device according to the disclosure includes the steps of: providing a first carrier plate and forming a first interlayer on the first carrier plate; disposing a first glass substrate on the first interlayer to form a first substrate unit; forming a first device layer on the first glass substrate to obtain a first device substrate; providing a second carrier plate and forming a second interlayer on the second carrier plate; disposing a second glass substrate on the second interlayer to form a second substrate unit; oppositely placing and then combining the second substrate unit and the first device substrate; and separating the first glass substrate from the first interlayer and separating the second glass substrate from the second interlayer to obtain the display device. Alternatively, the method further may include the steps of: separating the second glass substrate from the second interlayer; forming an electrode layer on an exterior surface of the second glass substrate away from the first glass substrate; and separating the first glass substrate from the first interlayer to obtain the display device. By the manufacturing process mentioned above, the substrate unit and the display device according to the disclosure can be produced using the existing manufacturing equipment, and the display device can meet the large-scale, thin and lightweight requirements.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, this description is not meant to be construed in a limiting sense. Various modifications of the disclosed embodiments, as well as alternative embodiments, will be apparent to persons skilled in the art. It is, therefore, contemplated that the appended claims will cover all modifications that fall within the true scope of the present invention.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A substrate unit, comprising:

a carrier plate;

a glass substrate; and

an interlayer disposed between the carrier plate and the glass substrate;

wherein the thickness of the glass substrate is less than that of the carrier plate, and the thickness of the interlayer is less than that of the glass substrate.

2. The substrate unit of claim 1, wherein the thickness of the glass substrate is between 0.05 mm and 0.3 mm, and the thickness of the interlayer is between 0.01 μm and 2 μm.

3. The substrate unit of claim 1, wherein the interlayer has a release surface adjacent to the glass substrate, and an adhesion force between the interlayer and the carrier plate is greater than that between the interlayer and the glass substrate.

4. The substrate unit of claim 3, wherein a water contact angle of the release surface is between 40° and 90°.

5. The substrate unit of claim 1, wherein the material of the interlayer is a metal, a metal oxide, a silicon oxide, an organosilicon compound, an organotitanium compound, an organoaluminum compound, or an organic polymer.

6. The substrate unit of claim 1, further comprising:

a function layer disposed on the carrier plate and on the lateral peripheries of the interlayer and the glass substrate.

7. The substrate unit of claim 6, wherein the function layer connects the carrier plate and the glass substrate.

8. The substrate unit of claim 1, further comprising:

a function layer covering the lateral periphery and the upper surface of the interlayer and disposed between the interlayer and the glass substrate.

9. A display device, comprising:

a first glass substrate;

a second glass substrate;

a device layer disposed between the first glass substrate and the second glass substrate; and

a sealing layer disposed between the first glass substrate and the second glass substrate, wherein the sealing layer, the first glass substrate, and the second glass substrate form an enclosed space, and the device layer is disposed in the enclosed space;

wherein the thickness of the first glass substrate is between 0.05 mm and 0.3 mm.

10. The display device of claim 9, wherein the thickness of the second glass substrate is between 0.05 mm and 0.3 mm, and an exterior surface of the first glass substrate or the second glass substrate is a smooth surface without etched dimples.

11. The display device of claim 9, further comprising:

an electrode layer disposed on an exterior surface of the second glass substrate away from the first glass substrate.

12. A method for manufacturing a display device, comprising:

providing a carrier plate and forming an interlayer on the carrier plate;

disposing a substrate on the interlayer to form a substrate unit; and

forming a device layer on the substrate to obtain a device substrate,

wherein a thickness of the substrate is less than a thickness of the carrier plate, and a thickness of the interlayer is less than the thickness of the substrate.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the device layer comprises at least one of thin film transistors, organic light emitting diode units, touch devices, or a color filter layer.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein a material of the at least one of thin film transistors comprises amorphous silicon, amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide, c-axis aligned crystal indium gallium zinc oxide, or low temperature poly silicon.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the interlayer has a release surface adjacent to the substrate, and an adhesion force between the interlayer and the carrier plate is greater than that between the interlayer and the substrate.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein a water contact angle of the release surface is between 40 degrees and 90 degrees.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein a material of the interlayer is a metal, a metal oxide, a silicon oxide, an organosilicon compound, an organotitanium compound, an organoaluminum compound, or an organic polymer.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein the interlayer is formed on the carrier plate by dip coating, roll coating, print coating, or spin coating.

19. The method of claim 12, wherein the substrate is flexible.