Patent Application
20200194675
This application claims priority from and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2018-0162090, filed on Dec. 14, 2018, which is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
Exemplary implementations of the invention relate generally to a metal mask, a method of fabricating the same, and a method of fabricating a display panel and, more specifically, to a metal mask with improved process reliability, a method of fabricating the same, and a method of fabricating a display panel.
A display panel includes a plurality of pixels. Each of the pixels includes a driving element such as a transistor, and a display element such as an organic light emitting diode. The display element may be formed by stacking an electrode and a light-emitting pattern on a substrate.
To form the light-emitting pattern on a specific region, a mask, in which a penetration hole is defined, is used to pattern a light-emitting layer. The light-emitting pattern is formed on a region of the substrate exposed by the penetration hole of the mask. A shape of the light-emitting pattern is determined by a shape of the penetration hole.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for understanding of the background of the inventive concepts, and, therefore, it may contain information that does not constitute prior art.
Metal masks constructed according to the principles and exemplary implementations of the invention and methods of fabricating a display panel according to the principles of the invention provide an impurity-free metal mask to improve reliability and to reduce a defect of a light-emitting pattern in a process of fabricating a display panel. For example, the metal mask according to some implementations of the invention is formed of metallic materials having similar laser absorption ratios such as iron (Fe) or nickel (Ni) and does not contain aluminum (Al) and magnesium (Mg), which act as a contaminant or an impurity to the desired properties of iron (Fe) or nickel (Ni). Accordingly, a method of fabricating a display panel according to some implementations of the invention reduces the defect of the light-emitting pattern when forming a light-emitting pattern of the display panel and improves process reliability.
In addition, methods of fabricating a metal mask according to the principles of the invention provide a metal mask with high process reliability. For example, the method of fabricating a metal mask according to some implementations of the invention can improve processability of the metal mask since the metal mask is formed of metallic materials having similar laser absorption ratios. Accordingly, it may be possible to reduce defects in fabricating the metal mask.
According to some particularly advantageous implementations of the invention the metallic materials used to form the metal mask may have a laser absorption ratio of about 30% or higher and/or the difference between laser absorption ratios of the metallic materials may be less than about 20%.
Additional features of the inventive concepts will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the inventive concepts.
According to one aspect of the invention, a metal mask includes: at least one cell region, and a plurality of holes defined in the at least one cell region, wherein the at least one cell region comprises at least two metallic materials having iron and nickel, each metallic material having a laser absorption ratio of about 30% or higher.
The difference between laser absorption ratios of each of the metallic materials may be less than about 20%.
The metallic materials may not contain an appreciable amount of aluminum or magnesium.
The metallic materials may not contain appreciable amounts of sulfur.
The iron and the nickel may include an iron-nickel alloy.
The content of nickel in the iron-nickel alloy may range from about 30% to about 40%.
According to another aspect of the invention, a method of fabricating a metal mask, the method may include the steps of: forming a thin metal film containing iron and nickel from an electrolytic solution, processing the thin metal film to form a metal substrate, and forming a metal mask having a plurality of penetration holes by irradiating a laser upon the metal substrate.
The step of forming of the metal substrate may include the steps of melting the thin metal film and rolling the melted thin metal film to form the metal substrate.
The content of nickel in the metal substrate may range from about 30% to about 40%.
The electrolytic solution may include an iron compound and a nickel compound.
The thin metal film may include an iron-nickel alloy.
The step of forming of the thin metal film may include the steps of forming a first thin metal film containing iron from a first electrolytic solution containing an iron compound, and forming a second thin metal film containing nickel from a second electrolytic solution containing a nickel compound, the second electrolytic solution being different from the first electrolytic solution.
The step of forming of the metal substrate may further include the step of mixing the first thin metal film and the second thin metal film. The metal substrate may be formed by processing the mixed first and second thin metal films.
The step of forming of the metal substrate may further include the step of performing a desulfurization step to remove sulfur from the thin metal film.
The metal mask may be formed of metallic materials, whose absorption ratios to the laser are higher than or equal to about 30%.
The metal substrate may not contain appreciable amounts of aluminum, magnesium, and sulfur.
According to still another aspect of the invention, a method of fabricating a display panel, the method may include the steps of providing a first substrate, disposing a metal mask including iron and nickel materials without appreciable amounts of aluminum or magnesium, the metal mask having a plurality of penetration holes on the first substrate, forming a plurality of light-emitting patterns corresponding to the penetration holes on the first substrate, removing the metal mask, and forming a display panel by forming an upper electrode to cover the light-emitting patterns.
The metal mask may not contain appreciable amounts of sulfur.
The display panel may include a plurality of pixels, and the light-emitting patterns may be disposed in the pixels, respectively.
The first substrate may include a plurality of lower electrodes spaced apart from each other. The metal mask may be disposed such that the penetration holes are overlapped with the lower electrodes, respectively.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.
The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention, and together with the description serve to explain the inventive concepts.
In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of various exemplary embodiments or implementations of the invention. As used herein “embodiments” and “implementations” are interchangeable words that are non-limiting examples of devices or methods employing one or more of the inventive concepts disclosed herein. It is apparent, however, that various exemplary embodiments may be practiced without these specific details or with one or more equivalent arrangements. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring various exemplary embodiments. Further, various exemplary embodiments may be different, but do not have to be exclusive. For example, specific shapes, configurations, and characteristics of an exemplary embodiment may be used or implemented in another exemplary embodiment without departing from the inventive concepts.
Unless otherwise specified, the illustrated exemplary embodiments are to be understood as providing exemplary features of varying detail of some ways in which the inventive concepts may be implemented in practice. Therefore, unless otherwise specified, the features, components, modules, layers, films, panels, regions, and/or aspects, etc. (hereinafter individually or collectively referred to as “elements”), of the various embodiments may be otherwise combined, separated, interchanged, and/or rearranged without departing from the inventive concepts.
The use of cross-hatching and/or shading in the accompanying drawings is generally provided to clarify boundaries between adjacent elements. As such, neither the presence nor the absence of cross-hatching or shading conveys or indicates any preference or requirement for particular materials, material properties, dimensions, proportions, commonalities between illustrated elements, and/or any other characteristic, attribute, property, etc., of the elements, unless specified. Further, in the accompanying drawings, the size and relative sizes of elements may be exaggerated for clarity and/or descriptive purposes. When an exemplary embodiment may be implemented differently, a specific process order may be performed differently from the described order. For example, two consecutively described processes may be performed substantially at the same time or performed in an order opposite to the described order. Also, like reference numerals denote like elements.
When an element, such as a layer, is referred to as being “on,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly on, connected to, or coupled to the other element or layer or intervening elements or layers may be present. When, however, an element or layer is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there are no intervening elements or layers present. To this end, the term “connected” may refer to physical, electrical, and/or fluid connection, with or without intervening elements. Further, the D1-axis, the D2-axis, and the D3-axis are not limited to three axes of a rectangular coordinate system, such as the x, y, and z-axes, and may be interpreted in a broader sense. For example, the D1-axis, the D2-axis, and the D3-axis may be perpendicular to one another, or may represent different directions that are not perpendicular to one another. For the purposes of this disclosure, “at least one of X, Y, and Z” and “at least one selected from the group consisting of X, Y, and Z” may be construed as X only, Y only, Z only, or any combination of two or more of X, Y, and Z, such as, for instance, XYZ, XYY, YZ, and ZZ. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
Although the terms “first,” “second,” etc. may be used herein to describe various types of elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used to distinguish one element from another element. Thus, a first element discussed below could be termed a second element without departing from the teachings of the disclosure.
Spatially relative terms, such as “beneath,” “below,” “under,” “lower,” “above,” “upper,” “over,” “higher,” “side” (e.g., as in “sidewall”), and the like, may be used herein for descriptive purposes, and, thereby, to describe one elements relationship to another element(s) as illustrated in the drawings. Spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of an apparatus in use, operation, and/or manufacture in addition to the orientation depicted in the drawings. For example, if the apparatus in the drawings is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the exemplary term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. Furthermore, the apparatus may be otherwise oriented (e.g., rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations), and, as such, the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms, “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Moreover, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and/or “including,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. It is also noted that, as used herein, the terms “substantially,” “about,” and other similar terms, are used as terms of approximation and not as terms of degree, and, as such, are utilized to account for inherent deviations in measured, calculated, and/or provided values that would be recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art.
Various exemplary embodiments are described herein with reference to sectional and/or exploded illustrations that are schematic illustrations of idealized exemplary embodiments and/or intermediate structures. As such, variations from the shapes of the illustrations as a result, for example, of manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances, are to be expected. Thus, exemplary embodiments disclosed herein should not necessarily be construed as limited to the particular illustrated shapes of regions, but are to include deviations in shapes that result from, for instance, manufacturing. In this manner, regions illustrated in the drawings may be schematic in nature and the shapes of these regions may not reflect actual shapes of regions of a device and, as such, are not necessarily intended to be limiting.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure is a part. Terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense, unless expressly so defined herein.
As shown in
A plurality of penetration holes OP may be defined in each of the cell regions CA. The penetration holes OP may be spaced apart from each other in the first direction DR1 and the second direction DR2. Each of the penetration holes OP may penetrate completely through the metal mask MSK in a thickness direction DR3 of the metal mask MSK (hereinafter, a third direction).
The metal mask MSK may be formed of a plurality of metallic materials. The metal mask MSK according to the illustrated exemplary embodiment may be formed of metallic materials whose laser absorption ratio is equal to or higher than about 30%. For example, the metallic materials may include at least nickel (Ni) and iron (Fe). The following table 1 shows laser absorption ratios of some metals.
Table 1 shows absorption ratios of some materials when irradiated with a laser beam having a wavelength of about 515 nm. As shown in Table 1, the laser absorption ratios of iron and nickel are significantly different from laser absorption ratios of aluminum and magnesium. In the case where the difference of laser absorption ratios is large during a step of processing the metal mask MSK using a laser beam, it may be difficult to precisely control the laser-processing step. In this case, there may be technical issues, such as abnormal defects during fabricating the metal mask MSK or a reduction in accuracy and precision of the laser-processing step. In the this exemplary embodiment, the difference between laser absorption ratios of metallic materials constituting the metal mask MSK may be less than about 20%.
Furthermore, in the metal mask MSK, metallic materials whose laser absorption ratios are less than 10% should not be contained in the metal mask MSK. For example, aluminum (Al) and magnesium (Mg) should not be contained in the metal mask MSK according to this exemplary embodiment.
According to the principles and some exemplary embodiments of the invention, the metal mask MSK may be formed of metallic materials whose laser absorption ratios are similar to each other, and thus, the penetration holes OP may be uniformly formed by the laser-processing step. Thus, it may be possible to improve processability in fabricating the metal mask MSK.
As shown in
In the illustrated exemplary embodiment, a supporting plate SP may be further disposed between the masks MSK and the initial substrate DP-I1. The supporting plate SP may be provided in the form of a frame exposing at least a portion of the initial substrate DP-I1. The masks MSK may be coupled to the supporting plate SP to form a single object.
A portion of the initial substrate DP-I1 exposed by the supporting plate SP may be overlapped with the cell regions CA, in which the penetration holes OP of each of the masks MSK are defined. As shown in
In the illustrated exemplary embodiment, the supporting plate SP may prevent the masks MSK from being in direct contact with the initial substrate DP-I1. Thus, it may be possible to prevent the initial substrate DP-I1 from being damaged by physical contact with the masks MSK. However, the exemplary embodiment is not limited to this example or a specific exemplary embodiment, and in an exemplary embodiment, when a display panel is fabricated, the masks MSK may be directly disposed on the initial substrate DP-I1 without the supporting plate SP interposed therebetween.
Thereafter, the metal mask MSK may be removed from the initial substrate DP-I1, as shown in
Referring to
According to an exemplary embodiment, a plurality of the display panels DP-P may be formed by patterning the single initial substrate DP-I1, and thus, it may be possible to reduce process time and process cost. However, the exemplary embodiments are not limited to this example or a specific embodiment, and in an exemplary embodiment, only one display panel DP may be obtained from the initial substrate DP-I1, e.g., if the desired size of the display panel DP is large.
Referring to
The base substrate BS may include a plastic substrate, a glass substrate, a metal substrate, and so forth. The plastic substrate may include a resin. For example, the base substrate BS may be formed of or include at least one of acrylic resins, methacryl resins, polyisoprene resins, vinyl resins, epoxy resins, urethane resins, cellulose resins, siloxane resins, polyimide resins, polyamide resins, or perylene resins.
The transistor TR may be disposed on the base substrate BS. In an exemplary embodiment, a plurality of the transistors TR may be disposed in the penetration holes OP, respectively. For convenience in illustration, an example in which one transistor TR is disposed corresponding to one penetration hole OP, is shown in the illustrated exemplary embodiment. However, the exemplary embodiments are not limited to this example or a specific embodiment, and a plurality of transistors TR may be overlapped with one penetration hole OP.
The transistor TR may include a semiconductor pattern AL, a control electrode CE, an input electrode IE, and an output electrode OE. The semiconductor pattern AL may include a semiconductor material. For example, the semiconductor pattern AL may include at least one of group IV elements, group VIII elements, and metal oxides.
The control electrode CE may be disposed on a first insulating layer 10. The control electrode CE may be overlapped with the semiconductor pattern AL when viewed in a plan view and may be spaced apart from the semiconductor pattern AL in a sectional view. The control electrode CE may be spaced apart from the semiconductor pattern AL with the first insulating layer 10 interposed therebetween. However, the exemplary embodiments are not limited to this example or a specific embodiment, and in the transistor TR according to an exemplary embodiment, the semiconductor pattern AL may be disposed on the control electrode CE.
The input electrode IE and the output electrode OE may be disposed on a second insulating layer 20. The input electrode IE and the output electrode OE may be spaced apart from each other, when viewed in a plan view. The input electrode IE and the output electrode OE may penetrate the first insulating layer 10 and the second insulating layer 20 and may be coupled to the semiconductor pattern AL.
However, the exemplary embodiments are not limited to this example, and in the transistor TR according to an exemplary embodiment, the input electrode IE and the output electrode OE may be disposed below the semiconductor pattern AL or between the control electrode CE and the semiconductor pattern AL. In an exemplary embodiment, the input electrode IE and the output electrode OE may be disposed at the same level as the semiconductor pattern AL and may be in direct contact with the semiconductor pattern AL. The structure of the transistor TR may be variously changed and the exemplary embodiments are not limited to a specific structure of the transistor TR.
The lower electrode E1 may be disposed on a third insulating layer 30. The third insulating layer 30 may be disposed on the transistor TR to cover the transistor TR. The third insulating layer 30 may include an organic material and/or an inorganic material.
The lower electrode E1 may penetrate the third insulating layer 30 and may be coupled to the transistor TR. The initial substrate DP-I1 may further include an additional connection electrode, which is disposed between the lower electrode E1 and the transistor TR, and here, the lower electrode E1 may be electrically coupled to the transistor TR through the connection electrode.
A fourth insulating layer 40 may be disposed on the third insulating layer 30. An opening 40-OP may be defined in the fourth insulating layer 40. The opening 40-OP may be formed at a position corresponding to the lower electrode E1 to expose a portion of the lower electrode E1.
In the illustrated exemplary embodiment, the penetration hole OP of the metal mask MSK may be provided at a position corresponding to the opening 40-OP of the fourth insulating layer 40. The opening 40-OP of the fourth insulating layer 40 may be selectively patterned through the penetration hole OP of the metal mask MSK. This will be described in more detail with reference to
The patterning material OL may include a light-emitting material. For example, the patterning material OL may be formed of at least one of materials capable of emitting red, green, and blue lights and may include a fluorescent or phosphorescent material. The light-emitting material may be activated by an electrical signal to emit light of specific color. The patterning material OL may include an organic light emitting material or an inorganic light-emitting material.
In an exemplary embodiment, a plurality of the light-emitting patterns EP may be provided in openings, respectively. For convenience in illustration, an example, in which one light-emitting pattern EP is disposed in one opening 40-OP, is shown in the illustrated exemplary embodiment.
However, the exemplary embodiments are not limited to this example, and a plurality of the light-emitting patterns EP may be overlapped with one opening 40-OP. Alternatively, one light-emitting pattern EP may be overlapped with a plurality of openings. The shape of the light-emitting pattern EP may be variously changed, and the exemplary embodiments are not limited to a specific shape of the light-emitting pattern EP.
Referring to
The upper electrode E2, along with the lower electrode E1 and the light-emitting pattern EP, may constitute a light-emitting device ED. The pixel PX may include the light-emitting device ED and the transistor TR. Depending on the potential difference between the upper electrode E2 and the lower electrode E1, the light-emitting pattern EP of the light-emitting device ED may be activated to emit light.
The encapsulation layer 50 may cover the light-emitting device ED. The encapsulation layer 50 may include a first inorganic layer 51, an organic layer 52, and a second inorganic layer 53. The first inorganic layer 51 and the second inorganic layer 53 may be formed of or include silicon nitride, silicon oxide, or any compound thereof. The first inorganic layer 51 and the second inorganic layer 53 may be formed by a deposition process (e.g., a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process).
The organic layer 52 may be disposed on the first inorganic layer 51 to have a flat top surface. For example, the organic layer 52 may be disposed to cover an uneven top surface of the first inorganic layer 51 or particles on the first inorganic layer 51, and this may make it possible to prevent a top profile of the first inorganic layer 51 from affecting elements (e.g., the second inorganic layer 53) to be disposed on the organic layer 52. In addition, the organic layer 52 may relieve stress between layers in contact with each other. The organic layer 52 may be formed of or include an organic material and may be formed by a solution-based process (e.g., a spin coating process, a slit coating process, and an inkjet process).
As described above, the difference between laser absorption ratios of metallic materials constituting the metal mask MSK according to an exemplary embodiment may be less than about 20%. In addition, in the metal mask MSK, the content ratio of metallic materials whose laser absorption ratios are less than about 10% may be less than about 1%. The metal mask MSK according to the illustrated exemplary embodiment may be formed of a material containing neither an appreciable amount of aluminum (Al) nor magnesium (Mg), and may include about less of 1% of aluminum (Al) or less of 1% of magnesium (Mg) caused by process errors.
By using the metal mask MSK according to an exemplary embodiment, it is possible to selectively form a pattern in only a localized region corresponding to the penetration hole OP. In addition, the metal mask MSK does not contain aluminum (Al) and magnesium (Mg), which acts as a contaminant or an impurity to the desired laser absorption properties of iron (Fe) or nickel (Ni), and thus, the penetration hole OP may be easily and accurately formed. Accordingly, it may be possible to reduce the defect of the light-emitting pattern EP in a process of forming the light-emitting pattern EP and to improve process reliability. This will be described in more detail below.
As shown in
In detail, the thin metal film forming step S100 may be performed using a first apparatus MF_A. The first apparatus MF_A may include an electrolytic bath A1, an anode structure A3, and a cathode structure A2. The electrolytic bath A1 may contain the electrolytic solution ES.
The electrolytic solution ES may be a liquid material. The electrolytic solution ES may include at least one of iron compounds or nickel compounds. For example, in the illustrated exemplary embodiment, the electrolytic solution ES may include both an iron compound and a nickel compound. The electrolytic solution ES may include a specific solvent with iron and nickel ions dispersed in the solvent.
The solvent may contain pure (e.g., deionized) water or ultra-pure water, but the exemplary embodiments are not limited to this example. The electrolytic solution ES may further contain an additive agent for reducing a voltage and stabilizing a reaction or a catalyst for increasing reaction velocity, but the exemplary embodiments are not limited to this example.
The anode structure A3 may be provided in a cylindrical shape, and as shown in
The cathode structure A2 may have a shape surrounding the portion of the side surface of the anode structure A3 dipped in the electrolytic solution ES. The cathode structure A2 may have an arc-shaped section.
The cathode structure A2 may be spaced apart from the anode structure A3 by a specific distance. The cathode structure A2 may have a voltage opposite to the anode structure A3. The electrolytic solution ES may be provided in a space between the anode structure A3 and the cathode structure A2, and if a current flowing through the electrolytic solution ES is produced by a difference in voltage between the anode structure A3 and the cathode structure A2, a thin metal film FL may be precipitated or deposited on a surface of the anode structure A3.
The thin metal film FL may include an iron-nickel alloy. As the anode structure A3 rotates counter-clockwise in the direction of the arrow in
The content ratio of nickel to iron in the thin metal film FL may be determined depending on the contents of iron and nickel compounds contained in the electrolytic solution ES. According to an exemplary embodiment, the thin metal film FL may be designed to have a nickel content ranging from about 30% to about 40% and the remaining content may be iron (Bal. about 60- about 70%).
However, the exemplary embodiments are not limited to this example, and, the composition of the thin metal film FL may be variously changed depending on the composition of the electrolytic solution ES. For example, in the case where the electrolytic solution ES contains only one or the other of iron and nickel compounds, the thin metal film FL may form an iron film or a nickel film. This will be described in more detail below.
Thereafter, as shown in
In detail, the processing step S200 may be performed using a second apparatus MF_B. The second apparatus MF _B may include an injecting part B1, a rolling part B2, and a sintering part B3. The injecting part B1 may contain the thin metal film FL. In the illustrated exemplary embodiment, the thin metal film FL may be provided in an easily processable (e.g., melted) state or may be provided in a bulk state. The injecting part B1 may provide the thin metal film FL to the rolling part B2.
The rolling part B2 may include a first roller B21 and a second roller B22, each of which has a cylindrical shape. The first roller B21 and the second roller B22 may be spaced apart from each other by a specific distance and may be disposed to face each other. The first roller B21 and the second roller B22 may rotate in opposite directions.
For example, as shown in
The thin intermediate metal film FL1 may be processed by the sintering part B3, thereby forming the metal coil CL. The sintering part B3 may be configured to grow crystals of metal particles (e.g., nickel or iron) in the thin intermediate metal film FL1 and to remove pores from the thin intermediate metal film FL1. Thus, the metal coil CL may have a relatively dense crystal structure, compared to the thin intermediate metal film FL1. However, the exemplary embodiments are not limited to this example, and in an exemplary embodiment, the sintering part B3 may be omitted from the second apparatus MF_B.
As shown in
Referring to
As shown in
As shown in
However, the exemplary embodiments are not limited to this example or a specific embodiment, and in a metal mask fabricating method according to an exemplary embodiment, only one metal mask may be formed from each metal substrate FS. According to an exemplary embodiment, since the electroforming and rolling processes are used to fabricate a metal mask, the metal mask forming step S400 may be performed with improved process reliability.
According to an exemplary embodiment, an additional thermal treatment process may be omitted from the process of forming the metal mask MSK. Thus, it may be possible to reduce shrinkage or deformation of the metal mask MSK caused by the thermal treatment and to form the metal mask MSK with improved reliability. Furthermore, it may be possible to fabricate the metal mask MSK in a desired or designed shape.
In the comparative embodiment, the metal mask contains aluminum (Al), in addition to nickel and iron. In the comparative embodiment, a protrusion may be formed in a penetration hole, as shown in
Referring to
Thus, a portion in which an impurity, such as aluminum, having a laser absorption ratio significantly lower than that of iron or nickel is contained may have a relatively low processability to the laser LS (e.g., see
By contrast, according to an exemplary embodiment, the metal mask MSK may include metallic materials having laser absorption ratio of 30% or higher. For example, the metal mask MSK according to the illustrated exemplary embodiment may contain nickel (Ni) and iron (Fe), whereas aluminum (Al) and magnesium (Mg) may not be contained in the metal mask MSK according to the illustrated exemplary embodiment.
As shown in
According to an exemplary embodiment, since the metal mask MSK is formed of metallic materials having similar laser absorption ratios, it may be possible to improve processability of the metal mask MSK. Accordingly, it may be possible to reduce defects of the metal mask MSK. That is, it may be possible to reduce the failure ratio and process costs.
As shown in
According to the illustrated exemplary embodiment, the electrolytic solution ES (e.g., see
Thereafter, as shown in
The method of fabricating a metal mask, according to an exemplary embodiment, may further include a desulfurization step S600. The desulfurization step S600 may be performed after or before at least one of the thin metal film forming step S100-1, the mixing step S500, or the processing step S200. In the case where sulfur (S) or sulfur oxide (SO2) is produced during the thin metal film forming step S100-1, the mixing step S500, or the processing step S200, the sulfur or sulfur oxide may be removed by the desulfurization step S600 such that no appreciable amounts of sulfur remain. Accordingly, it may be possible to prevent the metal mask MSK from being damaged by the sulfur or sulfur oxide and to improve reliability and processability of the metal mask MSK.
According to an exemplary embodiment, it may be possible to reduce the impurity content in a metal mask. In addition, it may be possible to improve processability of the metal mask and consequently to realize the metal mask with improved uniformity and high stability. Furthermore, by using the metal mask, it may be possible to reduce the failure ratio of a display panel and to fabricate a display panel with improved reliability.
Although certain exemplary embodiments and implementations have been described herein, other embodiments and modifications will be apparent from this description. Accordingly, the inventive concepts are not limited to such embodiments, but rather to the broader scope of the appended claims and various obvious modifications and equivalent arrangements as would be apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2018-0162090 | Dec 2018 | KR | national |
