U.S. patent application number 12/870340 was filed with the patent office on 2011-03-03 for flexible display and method for manufacturing the same.
Invention is credited to Sung-Guk An, Dong-un Jin, Hyung-Sik Kim, Tae-Woong KIM, Young-Gu Kim, Sang-Joon Seo.
Application Number | 20110052836 12/870340 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43016664 |
Filed Date | 2011-03-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110052836 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
KIM; Tae-Woong ; et
al. |
March 3, 2011 |
FLEXIBLE DISPLAY AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME
Abstract
A flexible display comprises a flexible substrate made of
plastic material, a display element on a first surface of the
flexible substrate, and a surface residual film containing at least
one of a metal material or a metal oxide material. The surface
residual film is bonded to at least a part of a second surface of
the flexible substrate. The second surface is opposed to the first
surface. A method for manufacturing a flexible display comprises
preparing a glass substrate, forming adhesive material film on the
glass substrate, the adhesive material film being made of at least
one of a metal material or a metal oxide material, and forming a
flexible substrate from plastic material on the adhesive material
film.
Inventors: |
KIM; Tae-Woong;
(Yongin-City, KR) ; An; Sung-Guk; (Yongin-city,
KR) ; Jin; Dong-un; (Yongin-city, KR) ; Kim;
Hyung-Sik; (Yongin-city, KR) ; Kim; Young-Gu;
(Yongin-city, KR) ; Seo; Sang-Joon; (Yongin-city,
KR) |
Family ID: |
43016664 |
Appl. No.: |
12/870340 |
Filed: |
August 27, 2010 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
428/1.1 ;
156/712; 156/924; 427/123; 427/126.2; 428/336; 428/337; 428/457;
428/473.5; 428/702; 445/24 |
Current CPC
Class: |
C09K 2323/00 20200801;
Y10T 428/31721 20150401; Y02E 10/549 20130101; Y10T 156/1158
20150115; H01L 51/5256 20130101; B32B 15/08 20130101; H01L 51/52
20130101; B05D 1/36 20130101; Y10T 428/31678 20150401; H01L 51/003
20130101; H01L 2251/5338 20130101; B32B 9/045 20130101; H01L
2227/326 20130101; Y10T 428/265 20150115; B05D 5/12 20130101; Y10T
428/266 20150115 |
Class at
Publication: |
428/1.1 ;
428/457; 428/473.5; 428/337; 428/336; 428/702; 427/123; 427/126.2;
156/584; 445/24 |
International
Class: |
G02F 1/13 20060101
G02F001/13; B32B 15/04 20060101 B32B015/04; B32B 27/06 20060101
B32B027/06; B32B 5/00 20060101 B32B005/00; B32B 9/00 20060101
B32B009/00; B05D 5/12 20060101 B05D005/12; B05D 3/06 20060101
B05D003/06; B32B 43/00 20060101 B32B043/00; H01J 9/00 20060101
H01J009/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Aug 28, 2009 |
KR |
10-2009-0080769 |
Claims
1. A flexible display, comprising: a flexible substrate made of
plastic material; a display element on a first surface of the
flexible substrate; and a surface residual film containing at least
one of a metal material or a metal oxide material, the surface
residual film being bonded to at least a part of a second surface
of the flexible substrate, the second surface being opposed to the
first surface.
2. The flexible display as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plastic
material includes a functional group of --CONH--.
3. The flexible display as claimed in claim 2, wherein the flexible
substrate is formed from a material containing a polyimide.
4. The flexible display as claimed in claim 2, wherein the flexible
substrate has a thickness ranging from 5 .mu.m to 200 .mu.m.
5. The flexible display as claimed in claim 2, wherein the flexible
substrate has a coefficient of thermal expansion ranging from 3
ppm/.degree. C. to 10 ppm/.degree. C.
6. The flexible display as claimed in claim 2, wherein the surface
residual film contains material bonded to the functional group of
--CONH--.
7. The flexible display as claimed in claim 6, wherein the metal
material is bonded to the functional group of --CONH--, and the
metal material includes at least one of aluminum, gallium, indium,
titanium, molybdenum, and zinc.
8. The flexible display as claimed in claim 6, wherein the metal
oxide material is bonded to the functional group of --CONH--, and
the metal oxide material includes at least one of aluminum oxide,
gallium oxide, zinc oxide, titanium oxide, indium oxide, indium tin
oxide, indium zinc oxide, and gallium indium zinc oxide.
9. The flexible display as claimed in claim 1, wherein the display
element includes a thin film transistor.
10. The flexible display as claimed in claim 9, wherein the display
element is any one of an organic light emitting diode display
device, a liquid crystal display device, or an electrophoretic
display device.
11. The flexible display as claimed in claim 1, wherein the surface
residual film has a thickness ranging from 0.1 nm to 1000 nm.
12. A method for manufacturing a flexible display, comprising:
preparing a glass substrate; forming adhesive material film on the
glass substrate, the adhesive material film being made of at least
one of a metal material or a metal oxide material and forming a
flexible substrate from a plastic material on the adhesive material
film.
13. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the plastic material
includes a functional group of --CONH--.
14. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the flexible
substrate is formed from a material containing polyimide.
15. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the flexible
substrate is formed by a slit coating method or a screen printing
method.
16. The method as claimed in claim 15, wherein the flexible
substrate has a thickness ranging from 5 .mu.m to 200 .mu.m
17. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the flexible
substrate has the same coefficient of thermal expansion as the
glass substrate.
18. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the flexible
substrate has a coefficient of thermal expansion of less than 10
ppm/.degree. C.
19. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the adhesive
material film contains a material capable of being bonded to the
functional group of --CONH--.
20. The method as claimed in claim 19, wherein the metal material
is bonded to the functional group of --CONH--, and the metal
material includes at least one of aluminum, gallium, indium,
titanium, molybdenum, and zinc.
21. The method as claimed in claim 19, wherein the metal oxide
material is bonded to the functional group of --CONH--, and the
metal oxide material includes at least one of aluminum oxide,
gallium oxide, zinc oxide, titanium oxide, indium oxide, indium tin
oxide, indium zinc oxide, and gallium indium zinc oxide.
22. The method as claimed in claim 19, wherein the adhesive
material film is formed by atomic layer deposition.
23. The method as claimed in claim 22, wherein the adhesive
material film has a thickness ranging from 0.1 nm to 1000 nm.
24. The method as claimed in claim 12, further comprising
separating the flexible substrate and the glass substrate from each
other.
25. The method as claimed in claim 24, wherein the flexible
substrate and the adhesive material film are separated from each
other by radiation of laser light.
26. The method as claimed in claim 24, wherein the adhesive
material film and the glass substrate are separated from each other
by radiation of laser light.
27. The method as claimed in claim 24, further comprising forming a
display element on the flexible substrate.
28. The method as claimed in claim 27, wherein the display element
includes a thin film transistor.
29. The method as claimed in claim 28, wherein the display element
is any one of an organic light emitting diode display device, a
liquid crystal display device, and an electrophoretic display
device.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] 1. Field
[0002] The embodiments relate to a flexible display and a method
for manufacturing the same. More particularly, the embodiments
relate to a flexible display which can be stably formed and a
method for manufacturing the same.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] In recent years, flexible displays having a lightweight and
shock-resistant flexible substrate made of materials such as
plastics have been developed. Portability of such flexible displays
can be maximized since they can be folded or rolled up. Also, such
flexible displays can be applied in various fields.
[0005] A flexible display includes a display element formed on a
flexible substrate. Different types of display elements may be used
in a flexible display, including an organic light emitting diode
display device, a liquid crystal display device, and an
electrophoretic display (EPD) device, etc.
[0006] These types of display elements commonly include thin film
transistors. Accordingly, in order to form a flexible display, the
flexible substrate undergoes a number of thin film processes to
form thin film transistors.
[0007] Since the flexible substrate generally has a relatively thin
thickness of several tens of micrometers, it was difficult to
perform a number of thin film processes separately on the flexible
substrate. Currently, a method in which a flexible substrate is
firstly formed on a glass substrate, a display element is formed on
the flexible substrate adhered to the glass substrate, and then the
flexible substrate and the glass substrate are separated from each
other is used to perform thin film processes.
[0008] A flexible substrate made of plastic material generally has
a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) that is different from the
CTE of the glass substrate. If the adhesion force between the
flexible substrate and the glass substrate is weak, then the
flexible substrate may peel off and away from the glass substrate
or be partly removed and bent during a high-temperature process.
This may cause a fatal defect in the manufacturing process of a
flexible display.
[0009] The above described information is only for enhancement of
understanding of the background of the described technology.
Therefore, it may contain information that does not form the prior
art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary
skill in the art.
SUMMARY
[0010] Embodiments are therefore directed to a flexible display,
which can be stably formed, and a method for manufacturing the
same, which substantially overcome one or more of the problems due
to the limitations and disadvantages of the related art.
[0011] It is therefore a feature of an embodiment to provide a
flexible display, comprising a flexible substrate made of plastic
material, a display element on a first surface of the flexible
substrate, and a surface residual film containing at least one of a
metal material or a metal oxide material, the surface residual film
being bonded to at least a part of a second surface of the flexible
substrate, the second surface of the flexible substrate being
opposed to the first surface.
[0012] The plastic material may include a functional group of
--CONH--.
[0013] The flexible substrate may be formed from a material
containing a polyimide.
[0014] The flexible substrate may have a thickness ranging from 5
.mu.m to 200 .mu.m.
[0015] The flexible substrate may have a coefficient of thermal
expansion ranging from 3 ppm/.degree. C. to 10 ppm/.degree. C.
[0016] The surface residual film may contain a material bonded to
the functional group of --CONH--.
[0017] The metal material may be bonded to the functional group of
--CONH--, and the metal material may include at least one of
aluminum, gallium, indium, titanium, molybdenum, and zinc.
[0018] The metal oxide material may be bonded to the functional
group of --CONH--, and the metal oxide material may include at
least one of aluminum oxide, gallium oxide, zinc oxide, titanium
oxide, indium oxide, indium tin oxide, indium zinc oxide, and
gallium indium zinc oxide.
[0019] The display element may include a thin film transistor.
[0020] The display element may be an organic light emitting diode
display device, a liquid crystal display device, or an
electrophoretic display device.
[0021] The surface residual film may have a thickness ranging from
0.1 nm to 1000 nm.
[0022] It is therefore another feature of an embodiment to provide
a method for manufacturing a flexible display, comprising:
preparing a glass substrate; forming adhesive material film on the
glass substrate, the adhesive material film being made of at least
one of metal material and metal oxide material; and forming a
flexible substrate from plastic material on the adhesive material
film.
[0023] The plastic material may include a functional group of
--CONH--.
[0024] The flexible substrate may be formed from material
containing polyimide.
[0025] The flexible substrate may be formed by a slit coating
method or a screen printing method.
[0026] The flexible substrate has a thickness ranging from 5 .mu.m
to 200 .mu.m.
[0027] The flexible substrate may have the same coefficient of
thermal expansion as the glass substrate.
[0028] The flexible substrate may have a coefficient of thermal
expansion of less than 10 ppm/.degree. C.
[0029] The adhesive material film may contain material capable of
being bonded to the functional group of --CONH--.
[0030] The metal material may be bonded to the functional group of
--CONH--, and the metal material may include at least one of
aluminum, gallium, indium, titanium, molybdenum, and zinc.
[0031] The metal oxide material may be bonded to the functional
group of --CONH--, and the metal oxide material may include at
least one of aluminum oxide, gallium oxide, zinc oxide, titanium
oxide, indium oxide, indium tin oxide, indium zinc oxide, and
gallium indium zinc oxide.
[0032] The adhesive material film may be formed by atomic layer
deposition.
[0033] The adhesive material film may have a thickness ranging from
0.1 nm to 1000 nm.
[0034] The method may further comprise separating the flexible
substrate and the glass substrate from each other.
[0035] The flexible substrate and the adhesive material film may be
separated from each other by radiation of laser light.
[0036] The adhesive material film and the glass substrate may be
separated from each other by radiation of laser light.
[0037] The method may further comprise forming a display element on
the flexible substrate.
[0038] The display element may include a thin film transistor.
[0039] The display element may be any one of an organic light
emitting diode display device, a liquid crystal display device, and
an electrophoretic display device.
[0040] According to embodiments, the flexible display may
effectively suppress occurrence of a defect.
[0041] Furthermore, the method for manufacturing a flexible display
according to embodiments can stably manufacture the above-described
flexible display by effectively improving bonding force between the
flexible substrate and the glass substrate.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0042] The above and other features and advantages will become more
apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by describing in
detail exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached
drawings, in which:
[0043] FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a flexible
display according to an exemplary embodiment;
[0044] FIG. 2 illustrates an enlarged layout view of pixels in the
flexible display illustrated in FIG. 1;
[0045] FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a pixel along
line illustrated in FIG. 2; and
[0046] FIGS. 4-7 illustrate cross-sectional views of the flexible
display illustrated in FIG. 1 in sequential manufacturing
processes.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0047] Korean Patent Application No. 10-2009-0080769, filed on Aug.
28, 2009, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, and entitled:
"Flexible Display and Method for Manufacturing the Same," is
incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
[0048] Example embodiments will now be described more fully
hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings; however,
they may be embodied in different forms and should not be construed
as 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 scope of the invention to
those skilled in the art.
[0049] In the drawing figures, the dimensions of layers and regions
may be exaggerated for clarity of illustration. It will also be
understood that when a layer or element is referred to as being
"on" another layer or substrate, it can be directly on the other
layer or substrate, or intervening layers may also be present. In
addition, it will also be understood that when a layer is referred
to as being "between" two layers, it can be the only layer between
the two layers, or one or more intervening layers may also be
present. Like reference numerals refer to like elements
throughout.
[0050] Hereinafter, an exemplary embodiment will be described with
reference to FIG. 1.
[0051] A flexible display 101 may include a flexible substrate 111,
a display element 110 formed on a first surface of the flexible
substrate 111, and a surface residual film 119 bonded to at least a
part of a second surface of the flexible substrate 111. As used
herein, the second surface of the flexible substrate 111 refers to
the surface on the other side or opposite side of the flexible
substrate relative to the first surface on which the display
element 110 is formed.
[0052] The flexible substrate 111 may be made of plastic material.
Specifically, the flexible substrate 111 may be made of plastic
material containing a functional group of --CONH--. For example,
the plastic material may be a polyimide containing the functional
group of --CONH--. Polyimides exhibit excellent heat resistance
characteristics, and since the flexible display 101 undergoes a
high-temperature process, polyimides are highly suitable as a raw
material in making the flexible substrate 111.
[0053] The flexible substrate 111 may have a thickness ranging from
5 .mu.m to 200 .mu.m. If the flexible substrate 111 has a thickness
of less than 5 .mu.m, it may be difficult for the flexible
substrate 111 to stably support the display element 110. Moreover,
it may be difficult to form the flexible substrate 111 to have a
thickness less than 5 .mu.m. On the other hand, if the flexible
substrate 111 has a thickness greater than 200 .mu.m, the overall
thickness of the flexible display device 101 may be too large, and
its flexibility characteristics may be deteriorated.
[0054] The flexible substrate 111 may be formed to have a CTE
ranging from 3 ppm/.degree. C. to 10 ppm/.degree. C. If the CTE of
the flexible substrate 111 is less than 3 ppm/.degree. C. or
greater than 10 ppm/.degree. C., a difference in a CTE between a
glass substrate 900 (shown in FIGS. 4 to 7) and the flexible
substrate 111 may be too large. It is important that the flexible
substrate 111 and the glass substrate 900 be stably bonded to each
other. However, because of such a large difference in CTE between
the flexible substrate 111 and the glass substrate 900, the
flexible substrate 111 may peel off and away from the glass
substrate 900 during a high-temperature process, and a fatal defect
may be caused.
[0055] In accordance with embodiments, a surface residual film 119
may be bonded to the functional group of --CONH-- contained in the
flexible substrate 111. The surface residual film 119 may contain
at least one of a metal material or a metal oxide material. That
is, the at least one metal material or metal oxide material
contained in the surface residual film 119 may be bonded to the
functional group of --CONH-- contained in the flexible substrate
111.
[0056] The metal material may include at least one of aluminum
(Al), gallium (Ga), indium (In), titanium (Ti), molybdenum (Mo),
and zinc (Zn).
[0057] The metal oxide material may include at least one of
aluminum oxide, gallium oxide, zinc oxide, titanium oxide, indium
oxide, indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), and gallium
indium zinc oxide (GIZO).
[0058] The at least one metal material or metal oxide material
contained in the surface residual film 119 may serve to improve
bonding force between the flexible substrate 111 and the glass
substrate 900 in the manufacturing process of the flexible display
101. That is, the at least one metal material or metal oxide
material contained in the surface residual film 119 may be firmly
bonded to the flexible substrate 111. Such firm bonding may
effectively suppress or prevent the flexible substrate 111 from
peeling off or away from the glass substrate 900.
[0059] After the display element 110 is formed on the flexible
substrate 111, the flexible substrate 111 and the glass substrate
900 may be separated from each other. At this point, at least a
part of the metal material or metal oxide material contained in the
surface residual film 119 between the flexible substrate 111 and
the glass substrate 900 may be bonded to both of the flexible
substrate 111 and the glass substrate 900. Accordingly, this part
of the metal material or metal oxide material contained in the
surface residual film 119 may remain between the flexible substrate
111 and the glass substrate 900.
[0060] The display element 110 may be any one of an organic light
emitting diode display device, a liquid crystal display device, and
an EPD device. These display elements commonly include thin film
transistors (TFTs). Thus, in order to manufacture the flexible
display 101, a number of thin film processes have to be carried
out.
[0061] FIG. 1 illustrates a flexible display 101 that uses an
organic light emitting diode display device as the display element
110. However, embodiments are not limited to this embodiment.
[0062] Hereinafter, the overall configuration of the flexible
display 101 will be described in detail by referring to the
flexible display 101 using an organic light emitting diode display
device as the display element 110.
[0063] The display element 110 may include an organic light
emitting diode 70 and a driving circuit DC. The driving circuit DC
may include TFTs 10 and 20 (shown in FIG. 2). The driving circuit
DC may be configured to drive the organic light emitting diode 70.
That is, the organic light emitting diode 70 may emit light in
response to a driving signal transmitted from the driving circuit
DC to display an image.
[0064] An exemplary configuration of the driving circuit DC and the
organic light emitting diode 70 are illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3.
However, embodiments are not limited to the configurations
illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. Various configurations of the driving
circuit DC and the organic light emitting diode 70 may be formed,
and modifications to these configurations are within the purview of
those of ordinary skill in the art.
[0065] Hereinafter, referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, an internal
configuration of the flexible display 101 having the organic light
emitting diode 70 will be described in detail. FIG. 2 illustrates a
layout view of pixels in the flexible display. FIG. 3 illustrates a
cross-sectional view of a pixel along line shown in FIG. 2.
[0066] FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate an active matrix (AM)-type organic
light emitting diode display 101 having a 2Tr-1Cap structure in
which each pixel includes two TFTs 10 and 20 and one capacitor 80.
However, embodiments are not limited this embodiment. The flexible
display 101 may be configured so that each pixel includes three or
more TFTs and two or more capacitors. Also, the flexible display
101 may have various configurations by forming additional wiring.
Here, a pixel refers to the smallest unit that is configured to
display an image, and is disposed in each pixel area. The flexible
display 101 displays an image through a plurality of pixels.
[0067] As illustrated in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, each pixel of the
display element 110 may include a switching TFT 10, a driving TFT
20, a capacitor 80, and an organic light emitting diode 70. Here, a
component including the switching TFT 10, the driving TFT 20, and
the capacitor 80 is referred to as the driving circuit DC. The
display element 110 may further include a gate line 151 arranged
along one direction, a data line 171 crossing the gate line 151,
and a common power line 172. The data line 171 is insulated from
the gate line 151.
[0068] One pixel may be defined by the gate line 151, the data line
171, and the common line 172. However, embodiments are not limited
to this embodiment.
[0069] The organic light emitting diode 70 may include a first
electrode 710 serving as an anode, a second electrode 730 serving
as a cathode, and an organic emission layer 720 disposed between
the first electrode 710 and the second electrode 730. However,
embodiments are not limited to this embodiment. Accordingly, the
first electrode 710 may be a cathode electrode, and the second
electrode 730 may be an anode electrode.
[0070] The flexible display 101 may be one of front, rear, and dual
display types. If the flexible display 101 is of a front display
type, the first electrode 710 may be formed from a reflective
layer, and the second electrode 730 may be formed from a
semi-transmissive layer. On the other hand, if the flexible display
101 is of a rear display type, the first electrode 710 may be
formed from a semi-transmissive layer, and the second electrode 730
may be formed from a reflective layer. If the flexible display 101
is of a dual display type, the first electrode 710 and the second
electrode 730 may be formed from a transparent layer or a
semi-transmissive layer.
[0071] The reflective layer and the semi-transmissive layer may be
made of at least one metal of magnesium (Mg), silver (Ag), gold
(Au), calcium (Ca), lithium (Li), chromium (Cr), and aluminum, or
an alloy thereof. It may be determined whether the first electrode
710 and the second electrode 730 are formed from the reflective
layer or the semi-transmissive layer according to the thickness. In
general, the semi-transmissive layer has a thickness of less than
200 nm. As the semi-transmissive layer becomes thinner, the level
of transmittance of light through the semi-transmissive layer
becomes higher. As the semi-transmissive layer becomes thicker, the
level of transmittance of light through the semi-transmissive layer
becomes lower.
[0072] The transparent layer may be made of indium tin oxide,
indium zinc oxide, zinc oxide (ZnO), or indium oxide
(In.sub.2O.sub.3).
[0073] In addition, the organic emission layer 720 may be formed
from multiple layers including one or more of an emission layer, a
hole injection layer (HIL), a hole transport layer (HTL), an
electron transport layer (ETL), and an electron injection layer
(EIL). If the organic emission layer 720 includes all of these
layers, the hole injection layer may be disposed on the first
electrode 710 serving as an anode, and then the hole transport
layer, the emission layer, the electron transport layer, and the
electron injection layer may be sequentially stacked on the hole
injection layer. Further, the organic emission layer 720 may
further include another layer, if necessary.
[0074] In this manner, the organic light emitting diode 70 may have
holes and electrons injected into the organic emission layer 720
through the first electrode 710 and the second electrode 730,
respectively. When excitons formed by recombination of the injected
holes and electrons drop from an excited state to a ground state,
the organic light emitting diode 70 may emit light.
[0075] The capacitor 80 may include a pair of capacitor plates 158
and 178 between which insulating layer 160 is interposed as an
interlayer. Here, the insulating layer 160 is made of a dielectric
material. Storage capacity is determined by electric charges stored
in the capacitor 80 and a voltage potential difference between the
capacitor plates 158 and 178.
[0076] The switching TFT 10 may include a switching semiconductor
layer 131, a switching gate electrode 152, a switching source
electrode 173, and a switching drain electrode 174. The driving TFT
20 may include a driving semiconductor layer 132, a driving gate
electrode 155, a driving source electrode 176, and a drain
electrode 177.
[0077] The switching TFT 10 may be used as a switching element to
select a pixel to emit light. The switching gate electrode 152 is
connected to the gate line 151. The switching source electrode 173
is connected to the data line 171. The switching drain electrode
174 may be spaced apart from the switching source electrode 173 and
connected to one of the capacitor plates 158.
[0078] The driving TFT 20 may apply driving power to the pixel
electrode 710 to emit light from the organic emission layer 720 of
the organic light emitting diode 70 in a selected pixel. The
driving gate electrode 155 may be connected to the capacitor plate
158 connected to the switching drain electrode 174. The driving
source electrode 176 and the other capacitor plate 178 may be
connected to the common power line 172. The driving drain electrode
177 may be connected to the pixel electrode 710 of the organic
light emitting diode 70 through a contact hole.
[0079] With the above-described configuration, the switching TFT 10
may be driven by a gate voltage applied to the gate line 151, and
supply a data voltage applied to the data line 171 to the driving
TFT 20. A common voltage is supplied from the common power line 172
to the driving TFT 20. A data voltage is supplied from the
switching TFT 10. A voltage corresponding to a difference between
the common voltage and the data voltage may be stored in the
capacitor 80. A current corresponding to the voltage stored in the
capacitor 80 may flow into the organic light emitting diode 70
through the driving TFT 20 to make the organic light emitting diode
70 emit light.
[0080] Additionally, the flexible display 101 may further include a
thin film encapsulation layer 210 formed on the flexible substrate
111. The thin film encapsulation layer 210 may cover the display
element 110 and a barrier film 120 disposed between the display
element 110 and the flexible substrate 111.
[0081] The thin film encapsulation layer 210 may include at least
one of inorganic films 211, 213, and 215, and at least one of
organic films 212 and 214. In the thin film encapsulation layer
210, the inorganic films 211, 213, and 215 and the organic films
212 and 214 may be alternately stacked. The inorganic film 211 may
be disposed in the lowermost portion. That is, the inorganic film
211 may be disposed closest to the organic light emitting diode 70.
FIG. 4 illustrates that the thin film encapsulation layer 210
includes three inorganic films 211, 213, and 215 and two organic
films 212 and 214. However, embodiments are not limited to this
embodiment.
[0082] The inorganic films 211, 213, and 215 may be formed from at
least one inorganic material of Al.sub.2O.sub.3, TiO.sub.2, ZrO,
SiO.sub.2, AlON, AlN, SiON, Si.sub.3N.sub.4, ZnO, and
Ta.sub.2O.sub.5. The inorganic films 211, 213, and 215 may be
formed by chemical vapor deposition or atomic layer deposition. Of
these methods, the atomic layer deposition may make it possible to
grow and produce the aforementioned inorganic materials at a
temperature of less than 100.degree. C. so as to prevent damage of
the organic light emitting diode 70. In addition, the inorganic
films 211, 213, and 215 formed by the atomic layer deposition may
effectively suppress permeation of moisture or oxygen because the
thin films have high densities. However, embodiments are not
limited to this embodiment. The inorganic films 211, 213, and 215
may be formed by various methods that are well known to those of
ordinary skill in the art.
[0083] The organic films 212 and 214 may be made of polymer-based
material. The polymer-based material may be acrylic resin, epoxy
resin, polyimide, polyethylene, etc. The organic films 212 and 214
may be formed by a thermal deposition process. To form the organic
films 212 and 214, the thermal deposition process may be carried
out in a temperature range in which the organic light emitting
diode 70 may not be damaged. However, embodiments are not limited
to this embodiment. The organic films 212 and 214 may be formed by
various methods that are well known to those of ordinary skill in
the art.
[0084] The inorganic films 211, 213, and 215 having high thin film
densities may suppress permeation mainly of moisture or oxygen. The
inorganic films 211, 213, and 215 may prevent most of moisture and
oxygen from permeating into the organic light emitting diode
70.
[0085] Moisture and oxygen passing through the inorganic films 211,
213, and 215 may be blocked by the organic films 212 and 214. The
organic films 212 and 214 may have a relatively low ability of
preventing moisture permeation compared to the inorganic films 211,
213, and 215. However, the organic films 212 and 214 also serve as
a buffer layer for reducing stress between the layers caused by the
bending of the organic light emitting display 101 between the
inorganic films 211, 213, and 215 and the inorganic films 211, 213,
and 215, as well as serving to suppress moisture permeation. That
is, if the inorganic films 211, 213, and 215 are consecutively
formed directly on the inorganic films 211, 213, and 215 without
the organic films 212 and 214 interposed therebetween, when the
organic light emitting display 101 is bent, stress is generated
between the inorganic films 211, 213, and 215 and the inorganic
films 211, 213, and 215. This stress may cause damages to the
inorganic films 211, 213, and 215. Consequently, the function of
the thin film encapsulation layer 210 of preventing moisture
permeation may be significantly degraded. In this way, the organic
films 212 and 214 may serve as buffer layers as well as serving to
suppress moisture permeation. Accordingly, the thin film
encapsulation layer 210 may stably prevent permeation of moisture
or oxygen. Also, because the organic films 212 and 214 have
planarization characteristics, the uppermost surface of the thin
film encapsulation layer 210 may be planarized.
[0086] Moreover, a thin film encapsulation layer having a thickness
of less than 10 .mu.m may be formed. Thus, the overall thickness of
the flexible display 101 may be very small.
[0087] In addition, flexibility of the flexible display 101 may be
maximized by using the thin film encapsulation layer 210.
[0088] The barrier film 120 may be formed from at least one of
various inorganic films and organic films.
[0089] The formed thin film encapsulation layer 210 and barrier
film 120 may preferably have a water vapor transmission rate (WWTR)
of less than 10.sup.-6 g/m.sup.2/day in order to prevent
unnecessary elements from permeating into the organic light
emitting diode 70. The unnecessary elements include moisture
permeated into the organic light emitting diode 70 because such
moisture may shorten a life span of the organic light emitting
diode 70.
[0090] With the above-described configuration, the flexible display
101 may effectively suppress generation of a defect.
[0091] Hereinafter, a method for manufacturing the flexible display
101 as illustrated in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to
FIGS. 4 to 7.
[0092] First, as illustrated in FIG. 4, a glass substrate 900 may
be prepared, and then an adhesive material film 950 may be formed
on the glass substrate 900.
[0093] The adhesive material film 950 may have the same
constituents as the surface residual film 109 of the flexible
display 101 illustrated in FIG. 1. That is, the adhesive material
film 950 may be made of at least one of a metal material or a metal
oxide material.
[0094] Further, the adhesive material film 950 may contain a
material that may be bonded to the functional group of --CONH--.
Specifically, the adhesive material film 950 may contain at least
one metal material including at least one of aluminum, gallium,
indium, titanium, molybdenum or zinc. The adhesive material film
950 may contain at least one metal oxide material including at
least one of aluminum oxide, gallium oxide, zinc oxide, titanium
oxide, indium oxide, indium tin oxide, indium zinc oxide, and
gallium indium zinc oxide.
[0095] The adhesive material film 950 may be formed by sputtering,
chemical vapor deposition (CVD), or atomic layer deposition. Among
these methods, the atomic layer deposition may be appropriate
because the adhesive film material 950 may be formed uniformly and
clearly without particles. Also, in the case of using the atomic
layer deposition, the adhesive material film 950 may be formed to
be not only uniform but also relatively thin. However, a deposition
speed of the atomic layer deposition is very low, i.e.,
approximately 0.5 .ANG. to 2 .ANG. per cycle. Taking these
characteristics of the atomic layer deposition into account, the
adhesive material film 950 may be formed to have a thickness t1
ranging from 0.1 nm to 1000 nm. The adhesive material film 950 may
be formed to be thick enough to cover the surface of the glass
substrate 900 for surface treatment of the glass substrate 900.
Thus, if the adhesive material film 900 is too thick, the overall
production efficiency of the flexible display 101 may be
deteriorated due to a relatively low deposition speed of the atomic
layer deposition. To this end, the adhesive material film 950 may
be preferably formed to have a thickness t1 of less than 1000
nm.
[0096] Next, as illustrated in FIG. 5, a flexible substrate 111 may
be formed on the adhesive material film 111. The flexible substrate
111 may be made of plastic material containing the functional group
of --CONH--. In the manufacturing method according to the
embodiment, the flexible substrate 111 may be formed of polyimide
containing the functional group of --CONH--. Polyimide is
particularly excellent in heat resistance. Since the flexible
display 101 has to undergo a number of high-temperature processes,
polyimide may be suitable as a raw material of the flexible
substrate 111 of the flexible display 101.
[0097] The flexible substrate 111 may be formed by either a slit
coating method or a screen printing method. That is, the polyimide
may be coated on the adhesive material film 950 by the slit coating
method or the screen printing method, and the flexible substrate
111 may be formed accordingly. At this point, the functional group
of --CONH-- contained in the flexible substrate 111 may be firmly
bonded to the adhesive material film 950. In general, metal
material or metal oxide material has very good adhesion force to
the glass substrate 900. Accordingly, the flexible substrate 111
and the glass substrate 900 may be stably adhered to each other by
the adhesive material film 950.
[0098] Also, the flexible substrate 111 may be formed so as to have
a thickness t2 ranging from 5 .mu.m to 200 .mu.m due to a
manufacturing environment or the flexible characteristics.
Specifically, the flexible substrate 111 having a thickness t2 of
approximately 10 .mu.m may be formed from polyimide by the slit
coating method, for example. Alternatively, the flexible substrate
111 having a thickness t2 ranging from approximately 10 .mu.m to 70
.mu.m may be formed from polyimide by the screen printing
method.
[0099] The flexible substrate 111 may be formed so as to have the
same CTE as the glass substrate 900 or a CTE of less than 10
ppm/.degree. C. The glass substrate 900 has a CTE of approximately
4 ppm/.degree. C. The flexible substrate 111 and the glass
substrate should be stably bonded to each other. If a difference in
a CTE between the flexible substrate 111 and the glass substrate
900 becomes too large, the flexible substrate 111 may be peeled off
from the glass substrate 900 during a high-temperature process.
This may cause a defect in the manufacturing process.
[0100] Even if there is a difference in the CTE between the
flexible substrate 111 and the glass substrate 900, the flexible
substrate 111 and the glass substrate 900 may be effectively bonded
to each other, and thus enable stable manufacture of the flexible
display 101.
[0101] Next, as illustrated in FIG. 6, a barrier film 120 may be
formed on the flexible substrate 111, and a display element 110 may
be formed on the barrier film 120. Then, a thin film encapsulation
layer 210 for covering the display element 110 may be formed on the
flexible substrate 111. Here, the barrier film 120 and the thin
film encapsulation layer 210 may be omitted if necessary according
to the type of the display element 110. In addition, their
configuration on the flexible substrate 111 may vary according to
the type of the display element 110.
[0102] FIG. 6 illustrates that the display element 110 is an
organic light emitting element. However, embodiments are not
limited to this embodiment. Thus, the display element may be either
a liquid crystal display device or an EPD device if a display
device is not an organic light emitting diode display device.
Further, these display elements 110 commonly include TFTs. Thus, in
the manufacturing process of the flexible display 101, the flexible
substrate 111 and the glass substrate 900 may undergo a number of
high-temperature processes, while being bonded to each other.
[0103] Next, as illustrated in FIG. 7, a laser light L may be
irradiated to separate the flexible substrate 111 and the glass
substrate 900 from each other. Specifically, by radiation of laser
light, the flexible substrate 111 and the adhesive material film
950 may be separated from each other, or the adhesive material film
950 and the glass substrate 900 may be separated from each
other.
[0104] In this manner, the flexible substrate 111 and the glass
substrate 900 may be separated, and the flexible display 101 may be
completed. In the flexible display 101 manufactured according to
the exemplary embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 1, at least part
of the metal material or metal oxide material bonded to the
flexible substrate 111 may remain bonded to the flexible substrate
111.
[0105] By the above-described method for manufacturing the flexible
display 101, the flexible display 101 may be stably manufactured by
effectively improving the bonding force between the flexible
substrate 111 and the glass substrate 900.
[0106] While this disclosure has been described in connection with
what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments,
it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the
disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover
various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within
the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
[0107] Exemplary embodiments have been disclosed herein, and
although specific terms are employed, they are used and are to be
interpreted in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for
purpose of limitation. Accordingly, it will be understood by those
of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and
details may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of
the invention as set forth in the following claims.
* * * * *