Patent Grant
9559332
This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2012-0102278 filed on Sep. 14, 2012 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
1. Field
The present invention relates to an organic electroluminescence (EL) display panel and a display device including the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
As portable display devices (such as notebooks, mobile phones and portable media players (PMPs)) as well as display devices for homes (such as TVs and monitors) become lighter and thinner, various flat panel display devices are being used. A flat panel display device includes a display panel which displays images. Flat panel display devices may be referred to as liquid crystal display devices, organic electroluminescence (EL) display devices, and electrophoretic display devices according to the type of the display panel.
An organic EL display device includes an organic EL display panel. The organic EL display panel includes an organic light emitting layer which is disposed between a first electrode and a second electrode and emits light corresponding to a current flowing therethrough. The organic EL display panel includes a thin film transistor connected to the first electrode or the second electrode and controls the current flowing through the organic light emitting layer using the thin film transistor. An overcoat layer may be disposed between the thin film transistor and the first or second electrode connected to the thin film transistor in order to planarize a top surface of the thin film transistor.
The organic light emitting layer may emit red light, blue light, or green light according to the type of the organic EL display panel. Otherwise, the organic light emitting layer may emit white light. If the organic light emitting layer emits the white light, the organic EL display panel may further include a color filter.
Aspects of embodiments according to the present invention provide an organic electroluminescence (EL) display panel (i.e., an organic light emitting display panel) structured to reduce or prevent outgassing from an organic material and a display device including the organic EL display panel.
Aspects of embodiments according to the present invention also provide an organic EL display panel structured to reduce or prevent outgassing from an organic material and degradation of color reproducibility due to resonance, and a display device including the organic EL display panel.
However, aspects of the present invention are not limited to the aspects and embodiments set forth herein. The above and other aspects of the present invention will become more apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains by referencing the detailed description of embodiments according to the present invention given below.
In one embodiment according to the present invention, an organic electroluminescence (EL) display panel is provided. The organic EL display panel includes: a substrate; a thin film transistor on the substrate; an overcoat layer on the thin film transistor and including an organic material; a first electrode on the overcoat layer; an organic light emitting layer on the first electrode; a second electrode on the organic light emitting layer; and a barrier layer between the overcoat layer and the first electrode, and including a first region including a single layer and a second region including a multilayer.
The first electrode may include a transparent electrode, and the second electrode may include a reflective electrode.
The display panel may further include a pixel defining layer on the barrier layer, wherein the first region is disposed under a light emitting region in which the light emitting layer is exposed by the pixel defining layer.
The second region may not be located under the light emitting region.
The display panel may further include a color filter located under the light emitting region and the barrier layer.
The overcoat layer may have a contact hole which overlaps the first electrode, and the second region may be located adjacently to the contact hole.
The second region may be located on an inner surface of a wall of the contact hole.
The first electrode may include a reflective electrode, and the second electrode may include a transparent electrode.
The display panel may further include a color filter located above the organic light emitting layer to overlap the organic light emitting layer.
The barrier layer may include: a first barrier layer at the first region and the second region; and a second barrier layer at the second region and including a different material from the first barrier layer.
In another embodiment according to the present invention, a display device includes: an organic EL display panel; and a driver configured to drive the organic EL display panel. The organic EL display panel includes: a substrate; a thin film transistor on the substrate; an overcoat layer on the thin film transistor and including an organic material; a first electrode on the overcoat layer; an organic light emitting layer on the first electrode; a second electrode on the organic light emitting layer; and a barrier layer between the overcoat layer and the first electrode, and including a first region including a single layer and a second region including a multilayer.
The first electrode may include a transparent electrode, and the second electrode may include a reflective electrode.
The organic EL display panel may further include a pixel defining layer on the barrier layer, wherein the first region may be located under a light emitting region in which the light emitting layer is exposed by the pixel defining layer.
The second region may not be located under the light emitting region.
The organic EL display panel may further include a color filter located under the light emitting region and the barrier layer.
The overcoat layer may have a contact hole which overlaps the first electrode, and the second region may be located adjacently to the contact hole.
The second region may be located on an inner surface of a wall of the contact hole.
The first electrode may include a reflective electrode, and the second electrode may include a transparent electrode.
The organic EL display panel may further include a color filter located above the organic light emitting layer to overlap the organic light emitting layer.
The barrier layer may include: a first barrier layer at the first region and the second region; and a second barrier layer at the second region and including a different material from the first barrier layer.
The above and other aspects and features of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings, in which:
Features and aspects of the present invention and methods of accomplishing the same may be understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description of example embodiments and the accompanying drawings. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the concept of the invention to those skilled in the art, and the scope of the present invention will be defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. Thus, in some embodiments, well-known structures and devices are not shown in order not to obscure the description of the embodiments with unnecessary detail. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. In the drawings, the thickness of layers and regions may be exaggerated for clarity.
It will be understood that when an element or layer is referred to as being “on” or “connected to” another element or layer, it can be directly on or connected to the other element or layer or intervening elements or layers may be present. When an element is referred to as being “directly on” or “directly connected to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used to distinguish one element from another element. Thus, for example, a first element, a first component or a first section discussed below could be termed a second element, a second component or a second section without departing from the teachings of the present invention.
Spatially relative terms, such as “below,” “beneath,” “lower,” “above,” “upper,” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures.
Embodiments described herein will be described in reference to plan views and/or cross-sectional views by way of ideal schematic views of the embodiments of the present invention. Accordingly, the example views may be modified depending on manufacturing technologies and/or tolerances. Therefore, the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to those shown in the views, but include modifications in configuration formed on the basis of manufacturing processes. Therefore, regions that are illustrated as examples in figures have schematic properties and shapes of regions corresponding to specific shapes of regions of elements by way of example, and do not limit aspects of the present invention.
An overcoat layer and/or the color filter in an organic EL device (e.g., an organic light emitting display device) may contain an organic material. In the process of depositing the first electrode or the second electrode at a high temperature, outgassing may occur from the organic material. The outgassing increases surface resistance of the first or second electrode, thereby deteriorating characteristics of a device while contracting (i.e., reducing the size of) a pixel and shortening the life of the organic light emitting layer.
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to
The driver 100 may drive the organic EL display panel 200. The driver 100 may receive image data R, G, B, generate scan signals S1 through Sn and data signals D1 through Dm, which correspond to the received image data R, G, B, to drive the organic EL display panel 200, and provide the scan signals S1 through Sn and the data signals D1 through Dm to the organic EL display panel 200.
The driver 100 may include a timing controller 110, a data driver 120, and a scan driver 130. The timing controller 110, the data driver 120 and the scan driver 120 may be formed as a single integrated circuit. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and they can also be formed as discrete (or separate) integrated circuits.
The timing controller 110 may receive the image data R, G, B and generate a scan driver control signal SCS and a data driver control signal DCS which correspond to the image data R, G, B.
The data driver 120 may receive the data driver control signal DCS and generate the data signals D1 through Dm corresponding to the data driver control signal DCS. The data signals D1 through Dm may include information about gray levels of an image to be displayed on the organic EL display panel 200.
The scan driver 130 may receive the scan driver control signal SCS and generate the scan signals S1 through Sn corresponding to the scan driver control signal SCS. The scan signals S1 through Sn may control times at which the data signals D1 through Dm are transmitted to a plurality of pixels PX of the organic EL display panel 200, respectively.
The organic EL display panel 200 may receive the data signals D1 through Dm and the scan signals S1 through Sn, and may display an image corresponding to the data signals D1 through Dm and the scan signals S1 through Sn. The organic EL display panel 200 may include a plurality of pixels PX. The pixels PX may be arranged in a matrix. The pixels PX may be illuminated at gray levels corresponding to the data signals D1 through Dm, and the scan signals S1 through Sn may control the times at which the data signals D1 through Dm are transmitted to the pixels PX, respectively.
The organic EL display panel 200 will now be described in more detail with reference to
Referring to
A substrate 210 may be made of a transparent material. For example, the substrate 210 may be made of, but is not limited to, glass, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polycarbonate (PC), polyethersulfone (PES), polyimide (PI), or polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA).
The thin film transistor may be disposed on the substrate 210. The thin film transistor may include a semiconductor layer 221a through 221c, a gate electrode 222, a source electrode 223, and a drain electrode 224.
The semiconductor layer 221a through 221c may include a source region 221a, a channel region 221b, and a drain region 221c. The source region 221a may be connected to the source electrode 223, and the drain region 221c may be connected to the drain electrode 224. The channel region 221b may be disposed between the source region 221a and the drain region 221c. A channel may be formed in the channel region 221b by a voltage applied to the gate electrode 222. When the channel is formed in the channel region 221b, the source region 221a and the drain region 221c may be electrically connected to each other. Although not shown in the drawing, the organic EL display panel 200 may further include a buffer layer between the substrate 210 and the semiconductor layer 221a through 221c to prevent the introduction of foreign matter from the substrate 210.
The gate electrode 222 may be disposed on the semiconductor layer 221a through 221c. The gate electrode 222 may overlap the channel region 221b. One of the scan signals S1 through Sn may be transmitted to the gate electrode 222, and a voltage corresponding to the transmitted scan signal may be applied to the gate electrode 222, thereby controlling the thin film transistor to be turned on or off. The organic EL display panel 200 may further include a gate insulating film 231 between the gate electrode 222 and the semiconductor layer 221a through 221c. The gate insulating film 231 may insulate the gate electrode 222 from the semiconductor layer 221a through 221c. The organic EL display panel 200 may further include an interlayer insulating film 232 on the gate electrode 222.
The source electrode 223 and the drain electrode 224 may be connected to the source region 221a and the drain region 221c, respectively. The source electrode 223 and the drain electrode 224 may respectively be connected to the source region 221a and the drain region 221c by contact holes formed in the gate insulating film 231 and the interlayer insulating film 232.
The arrangement of the elements 221a through 221c and 222 through 224 of the thin film transistor shown in
The overcoat layer 250 may be disposed on the thin film transistor. The overcoat layer 250 may have a flat top surface such that other elements can be easily placed on the overcoat layer 250. The overcoat layer 250 may contain an organic material. The overcoat layer 250 may include a contact hole 251. The first electrode 271 may be connected to an element disposed under the overcoat layer 250 by the contact hole 251. For example, the first electrode 271 may be connected to the drain electrode 224 by the contact hole 251. When the first electrode 271 is deposited at a high temperature, outgassing may occur from the organic material contained in the overcoat layer 250. The outgassing increases surface resistance of the first electrode 271, thereby degrading characteristics of a device while contracting the pixel PX and shortening the life of the organic light emitting layer 280. The contact hole 251 may function as a major path through which an outgas is released. The barrier layer 260 included in the organic EL display panel 200 can reduce negative effects brought about by the outgassing. Since the barrier layer 260 is formed around the contact hole 251 which is a major path for the release of the outgas, it can block the outgassing more effectively.
The first electrode 271 may be disposed on the overcoat layer 250. The first electrode 271 may include a connecting portion 271a which extends downward to be connected to the drain electrode 224. The connecting portion 271a may be disposed in the contact hole 251. The first electrode 271 may be made of a transparent conductive material such as indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), ZnO, or SnO2. The first electrode 271 may be formed by high-temperature deposition, and outgassing may occur in the process of depositing the first electrode 271 at a high temperature.
The organic light emitting layer 280 may be disposed on the first electrode 271. The organic light emitting layer 280 may emit light at a gray level corresponding to a potential difference between the first electrode 271 and the second electrode 272 or a current flowing through the organic light emitting layer 280. The organic light emitting layer 280 may emit white light. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. Light generated by the organic light emitting layer 280 may be emitted toward the bottom of the substrate 210.
The second electrode 272 may be disposed on the organic light emitting layer 280. The second electrode 272 may be made of a reflective conductive material. The second electrode 272 may reflect light coming from the organic light emitting layer 280 in a downward direction.
The barrier layer 260 may be disposed between the overcoat layer 250 and the first electrode 271. The barrier layer 260 may be made of SiOx or SiNx. The barrier layer 260 hinders an outgas generated by the organic material of the overcoat layer 250 from being released upward from the overcoat layer 250. Therefore, the barrier layer 260 can reduce effects caused by outgassing.
The barrier layer 260 may include a first region R1 formed of a single layer and a second region R2 formed of a multilayer (i.e., multiple layers, or two or more layers stacked together). In
The first region R1 may be disposed under a light emitting region LR in which light generated from the organic light emitting layer 280 can travel downward from the organic light emitting layer 280. The second region R2 may not be disposed under the light emitting region LR. When the barrier layer 260 composed of multiple layers is disposed under the light emitting region LR, light emitted from the organic light emitting layer 280 is more likely to be reflected due to a difference in refractive index between the multiple layers than when the barrier layer 260 composed of a single layer is disposed under the light emitting region LR. The light reflected by the barrier layer 260 composed of the multiple layers can be reflected again by the second electrode 272. In this process, resonance of light may occur between the second electrode 272 and the barrier layer 260 composed of the multiple layers. The resonance of the light between the second electrode 272 and the barrier layer 260 composed of the multiple layers may affect the wavelength of emitted light, thereby degrading color reproducibility of the display device 1000. In the organic EL display panel 200, however, the first region R1 having a single layer is disposed under the light emitting region LR. Thus, this can reduce or prevent the resonance between the second electrode 272 and the barrier layer 260 and the degradation of the color reproducibility of the display device 1000.
The barrier layer 260 may include a first barrier layer 261 and a second barrier layer 262. The first barrier layer 261 may be disposed on the entire top surface of the overcoat layer 250. The second barrier layer 262 may be disposed on a selected region of the first barrier layer 261. In this case, after the first barrier layer 261 is disposed on the entire top surface of the overcoat layer 250, the second barrier layer 262 may be disposed on the selected region of the first barrier layer 261, thereby completing the barrier layer 260. A region in which the second barrier layer 262 overlaps the first barrier layer 261 may be defined as the second region R2. The first barrier layer 261 and the second barrier layer 262 may be made of different materials. For example, the first barrier layer 261 may be made of SiOx, and the second barrier layer 262 may be made of SiNx. The opposite is also possible, and the present invention is not limited to either embodiment.
The organic EL display panel 200 may further include a protective film 233 disposed on the thin film transistor. The protective film 233 may protect the thin film transistor.
The organic EL display panel 200 may further include a color filter 240. The color filter 240 may be disposed under the barrier layer 260 to be overlapped by the light emitting region LR. In
The organic EL display panel 200 may further include a pixel defining layer 290. The pixel defining layer 290 may be disposed on the barrier layer 260 and the first electrode 271. The pixel defining layer 290 may define the area of each of the pixels PX included in the organic EL display panel 200. The pixel defining layer 290 may form an aperture which exposes at least a part of the first electrode 271. The organic light emitting layer 280 and the second electrode 272 may be disposed in the aperture of the pixel defining layer 290. A region of the aperture (in which the pixel defining layer 290 is not disposed) which exposes the organic light emitting layer 280 may be defined as the light emitting region LR.
Another embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to
Referring to
For simplicity, other elements substantially identical to those of
Another embodiment of the present invention will now be described with a reference to
Referring to
The barrier layer 260b may include a first barrier layer 261b and a second barrier layer 262b. The first barrier layer 261b may be disposed on the entire top surface of the overcoat layer 250 and be adjacent to the inner surface of the wall of the contact hole 251. The second barrier layer 262b may be disposed on a selected region of the first barrier layer 261b. After the first barrier layer 261b is disposed, the second barrier layer 262b may be disposed, thereby completing the barrier layer 260b.
For simplicity, other elements substantially identical to those of
Another embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to
Referring to
The barrier layer 260c may include a first barrier layer 261c and a second barrier layer 262c. The second barrier layer 262c may be disposed on a selected region of the top surface of the overcoat layer 250. When the second barrier layer 262c is disposed adjacent to the contact hole 251, it may also be disposed in a region adjacent to the inner surface of the wall of the contact hole 251. After the second barrier layer 262c is disposed, the first barrier layer 261c may be disposed on the entire top surface of the overcoat layer 250 and the second barrier layer 262c.
For simplicity, other elements substantially identical to those of
Another embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to
Referring to
For simplicity, other elements substantially identical to those of
Organic EL display panels according to other embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to
In each of the organic EL display panels 200e through 200g of
For simplicity, other elements of the organic EL display panels 200e through 200g are substantially identical to those with the same names in
Another embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to
Referring to
The first electrode 271b may be made of a reflective conductor. When light emitted from an organic light emitting layer 280 reaches the first electrode 271b, the first electrode 271b reflects the light upward.
The second electrode 272b may be made of a transparent conductive material. For example, the second electrode 272b may be made of a material such as ITO, IZO, ZnO, or SnO2.
A region of the pixel defining layer 290a may protrude and thus function as a spacer which supports the upper substrate 295.
The upper substrate 295 may be disposed on the pixel defining layer 290a and may be made of a transparent material. For example, the upper substrate 295 may be made of, but is not limited to, glass, PET, PC, PES, PI or PMMA. Light generated from the organic light emitting layer 280 may pass through the color filter 240a and the upper substrate 295 to come out of the upper substrate 295.
The color filter 240a may be, but is not limited to, a red filter, a blue filter, or a green filter. The color filter 240a may be disposed above a light emitting region LR to overlap the light emitting region LR. In
For simplicity, other elements substantially identical to those of
According to some embodiments, the organic light emitting layer 280 may be replaced with the organic light emitting layer 280a. In this case, the color filter 240a may be omitted.
According to some other embodiments, a barrier layer 260 may be replaced with one of the barrier layers 260a through 260c of
Embodiments of the present invention provide at least one of the following features.
That is, a layer which blocks outgassing can be reinforced in a region of an organic EL display panel in which outgassing may occur actively.
In addition, the outgassing can be blocked effectively while the effects on color reproducibility of an image displayed on the organic EL display panel are reduced.
However, the effects of the present invention are not limited to the one set forth herein. The above and other effects of the present invention will become more apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains by referencing the claims and their equivalents.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2012-0102278 | Sep 2012 | KR | national |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20050077816 | Yamada | Apr 2005 | A1 |
| 20060022587 | Jeong | Feb 2006 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 10-2001-0112623 | Dec 2001 | KR |
| 10-2005-0074208 | Jul 2005 | KR |
| 10-2005-0122893 | Dec 2005 | KR |
| 1020050122893 | Dec 2005 | KR |
| 10-2010-0131800 | Dec 2010 | KR |
| 1020100131800 | Dec 2010 | KR |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20140078120 A1 | Mar 2014 | US |
